1365. 


I 


JOHN  CAMPBEI 


THIRD  SEMIJBS!, 


-^'Cl,,. 


TALES 

OP 

A  GRANDFATHER, 

^Tfitrtr  Series; 

BEING 

STORIES 


TAKEN    FROM 


SCOTTISH  HISTORY. 

HUMBLY    INSCRIBED 
TO 

HUGH  LITTLEJOHN,  Esq. 

IN   TWO   VOLS. 

VOL.  r. 


BY  SIR  WALTER  SCOTT, 

AUTHOR    OF    WAVERLY,   &C. 


Exeter,  M*  J^. 

PUBLISHED  BY  J.  &  B.  WILLIAMS. 
1833. 


sk 


^mffiffA©^  ®mT  i^mwi'sm. 


TO  HUGH  LITTLEJOHN,  ESQ. 

My  Dear  Child, 

I  HAVE  now  finished  the  task  I  had  imposed  on  myself  of  giv- 
ing you  an  opportunity  of  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  past  events 
of  Scottish  History;  and  a  Wcody  and  tragic  tale  it  has  been. 
The  generation  of  which  I  am  an  individual,  and  which,  having 
now  6een  the  second  race  ol  their  successors,  must  soon  prepare  to 
leave  the  srpne.  have  been  tV.e  first  Scotsmen  who  appear  likely  to 
quit  the  stage  of  life,  without  witnessing  either  foreign  or  domestic 
war  within  their  country.  Our  fathers  beheld  the  civil  convulsion 
of  1745-C — the  race  who  preceded  them  saw  the  commotions  of 
1715,  1718  and  the  war  of  the  Revolution  in  1688-9.  A  third  and 
earlier  generation  witnessed  the  two  insurrections  of  the  Pentland 
Hills  and  Bolhwell  Bridge,  and  a  fourth  lived  in  the  bloody  times 
of  the  great  Civil  War;  a  fifth  had  in  memory  the  civil  contests 
ol  James  the  Sixth's  minority  ;  and  the  sixth  race  carries  us  back 
to  the  long  period  when  the  blcMi-g"  yf  i.e«^c  >veic  luially  un- 
known, and  tb«.  =tatR  of  rnnstant  hostility  between  England  and 
Scotlana.  was  only  interrupted  by  insecure  and  ill-kept  truces  of 
a  few  years'  endurance. 

And  even  in  your  Grandfather's  own  time,  though  this  country 
was  fortunate  enough  to  escape  becoming  the  tlieatre  of  bloody  con- 
flict, yet  we  had  only  to  look  abroad  to  witness  such  extensive 
scenes  of  war  and  slaughter,  such  subversion  of  established  states, 
and  extinction  of  ancient  dynasties,  as  if  the  European  world  was 
again  about  to  return  to  the  bondage  of  an  universal  empire.  We 
have,  therefore,  had  an  unexpected,  and  almost  nnhoped-for  escape 
from  the  evils  of  war  in  our  own  country,  at  the  expense  of  behold- 
ing from  our  island  the  general  devastation  of  the  Continent,  with 
the  frequent  alarm  that  we  ourselves  were  about  to  be  involved  in 
it. 

It  is  with  sincere  joy  that  I  see  a  period  arrived,  in  which  the 
rising  generation  may  for  a  time  at  least  be  less  likely  either  to 
hear  of,  or  to  witness,  the  terrors  of  actual  war.  Even  in  the  his- 
tory of  this  small  and  barren  country  of  Scotland,  men  may  read 
enough  of  its  miseries,  to  make  them  regret  how  often  they  have 


20K1 2.S.1 


PREFACTORY  LETTER. 


been  occasioned  by  the  explosions  of  party  spirit.  I  have  avoided, 
particularly  in  this  small  publication,  every  attempt  to  prejudice  your 
mind  in  favour  of  any  of  those  speculative  opinions,  which  have 
been  frequently  the  cause  of  unsheathing  the  sword  of  civil  discord. 
Some  years  hence,  you  will,  I  hope,  study  with  accuracy  the  his- 
tory of  Scotland,  with  a  veiw  to  form  your  own  opinion  which  of 
the  contending  parties  were  right  or  wrong;  and  I  hope  you  will 
then  possess  enough  of  judgment  to  perceive,  that  in  political  dis- 
putes, which,  above  all  others,  interest  the  passions,  you  are  not  to 
expect  that  either  the  one  party  or  the  other  are  to  be  regard- 
ed as  infallible;  and  that  you  will  remember  that  each  particular 
action  is  to  be  judged  of  by  its  own  circumstances,  and  the  motives 
of  the  actors,— not  approved  or  condemned  in  the  gross,  because  it 
it  is  a  measure  of  any  particular  faction.  The  present  is  not  inten- 
ded to  be  a  controversial  work.  Indeed,  if  disputed  points  should 
be  stated  here  as  subjects  of  discussioj,  tberp  is  no  space  to  argue 
them ;  and  all  that  could  be  brouglit  forward  would  t>e  the  asser- 
tion of  the  author's  own  opinion,  tor  which  he  is  not  entitled  to 
claim  any  particular  deference  from  other  readers,  and  certainly  is 
not  disposed  to  require  it  from  you,  or  to  desire  that  you  should 
take  upon  his  authority  what  should  be  the  subject  of  your  own  ia- 
vestigation. 

Like  most  men  of  some  experieBce  in  life,  I  entertain  undoubted- 
ly my  own  opinions  upon  the  great  political  questions  of  the  p>res- 
ent  and  of  A.tor^  t;n>oc ,  u^*  i  Kave  no  desire  to  impress  these  on 
my  juvenile  readers.  What  I  have  presumed  to  offer  is  a  general, 
and,  it  is  hoped,  not  an  uninteresting  selection  ol  tacts,  which  may 
at  a  future  time  form  a  secure  foundation  for  political  sentiments. 

I  am  more  anxious  that  the  purpose  of  this  work  should  be  UU' 
derstood,  because  a  friendly  and  indulgent  critic,*  whose  general 
judgment  has  been  but  too  partially  pronounced  in  favour  of  the  au- 
thor, has  in  one  point  misunderstood  my  intentions.  My  friendly 
Aristarchus,  for  such  I  must  call  him,  has  paid  me  the  great  com- 
pliment, (which  I  may  boast  of  having  to  my  utmost  ability  de- 
served,) that  my  little  work  contains  no  fault  of  commission;  that 
is  to  say  ,  he  admits  that  I  have  not  either  concealed  or  falsified  the 
truth  of  history  in  controverted  points,  which,  in  my  opinion, 
would  have  been,  especially  in  a  work  designed  for  the  use  of  youth, 
a  most  unpardonable  crime.  But  he  charges  me  with  the  offence 
of  omission,  in  leaving  out  inferences  which  he  himself  would  have 
drawn  from  the  same  facts,  and  which  he  seems  to  think  are  too 
obvious  not  to  be  discerned,  and  too  stubborn  to  be  refuted.  It  is, 
ou  the  contrary,  my  opinion,  and  been  ever  since  I  came  to  years  of 
*  Westminster  Review  for  April,  1829. 


PREFACTORY  LETTER. 


understanding,  that  in  many  of  these  points  his  conclusions  are  lia- 
ble to  direct  challenge,  and  in  others  to  much  modification.  I 
must  not,  therefore,  leave  it  to  be  supposed  that  I  have  deserted  my 
banners,  because  I  have  not  at  this  time  and  place  thought  it  ne- 
cessary to  unfurl  them. 

But  I  could  not  introduce  political  discussions  intq  any  elemen- 
tary work  designed  to  inspire  a  love  of  study.  In  more  mature 
years,  the  juvenile  reader  '.vill  have  an  opportunity  of  forming  his 
own  judgment  upon  the  points  of  controversy  which  have  disturb- 
ed our  history  ;  and  I  think  l>e  will  probably  find  that  the  spirit  of 
party  faction,  far  from  making  demi-gods  of  the  one  side,  and  fiends 
or  fools  of  the  other,  is  itself  the  blot  and  stain  of  our  annals — has 
produced  under  one  shape  or  other  its  most  tragic  events — has 
blighted  the  character  of  its  best  and  wisest  statesmen,  and  perhaps 
reserves  for  Britain  at  a  future  day,  a  repetition  of  the  evils  with 
which  it  has  already  afflicted  our  fathers. 

That  you,  my  dear  child,  and  your  contemporaries,  may  escape 
60  great  an  infliction,  is  the  sincere  hope  and  prayer 


Of  your  affectionate 

Grandfather. 


Abbotsford 
Ut  December y  1829 


.\ 


TALES  OF  A  GRANDFATHER. 

^THfrTr    Series* 


CHAP.  I 


Mutual  dislike  between  the  Scots  and  English— Divided 
Feeling  in  England  in  regard  to  the  Union — Universal  Discon- 
tent with  the  Union  in  Scotland— Disposition  among  all  Par- 
ties to  restore  the  Stewart  Family— Education  and  Character 
of  the  Chevalier  de  St  George— Promise  of  Louis  XIV,  to  sup- 
port the  claims  of  the  Family  of  James  II.— Intrigues  of  the 
Jacobite  Emissaries  perplexing  to  the  French  King,  who  re- 
solves to  ascertain  the  temper  of  the  Country  by  an  Agent  of  his 


We  are  now,  my  dear  child  approaching  a  period 
more  resembling  our  own  than  those  through  which 
I  have  hitherto  conducted  you.  In  England,  and 
in  the  Lowlands  of  Scotland,  men  used  the  same 
language,  possessed  in  a  considerable  degree  the 
same  habits  of  society,  and  lived  under  the  same 
forms  of  government,  which  have  existed  in  Britain 
down  to  the  present  day.  The  Highlanders,  in- 
deed, retained  their  ancient  manners  ;  and  although, 
from  the  establishment  of  forts  and  garrisons  in  their 
country,  the  laws  had  much  more  power  over  them 
than  formerly,  so  that  they  could  no  longer  break 
out  into  the  same  excesses,  they  still  remained,  in 
their  dress,  customs,  manners,  and  language,  much 
more  like  the  original  Scots  in  the  reign  of  Mal- 
colm Canmore,  than  the  Lowlanders  of  the  same 


8  DISLIKE  OF  THE  SCOTS  AND  ENGLISH. 

period  resembled  their  ancestors  of  the  serenteenth 
century. 

But  though  the  English  ana  Lowland  Scots  ex- 
hibited little  distinction  in  their  manners  and  habits, 
excepting  that  those  of  the  latter  people  indicated 
less  wealth  or  refinement  of  luxurj^,  there  was  no 
sympathy  of  feeling  between  them,  and  the  recent 
measure  of  the  Union  had  only  an  effect  resembling 
that  of  putting  two  quarrelsome  dogs  in  the  same 
couples,  or  two  sullen  horses  in  the  same  yoke. 
Habit  may  in  course  of  time  teach  them  to  accom- 
modate themselves  to  each  other ;  but  the  first  con- 
sequence of  the  compulsory  tie  which  unites  them 
is  the  feeling  of  aggrated  hostility. 

The  predominant  prejudices  of  the  English  re- 
presented the  Scots,  in  the  language  of  the  celebrat- 
ed Dean  Swift,  as  a  poor,  ferocious,  and  haughty 
people,  detesting  their  English  neighbours,  and 
looking  upon  them  as  a  species  of  Egyptians,  whom 
it  was  not  only  lawful  but  commendable  to  plunder 
whether  by  open  robbery  or  secret  address.  The 
poverty  of  the  North  Britons,  and  the  humble  and 
patient  labou^  by  which  individuals  were  frequently 
observed  to  emerge  from  it,  made  them  the  objects, 
of  contempt  to  the  English  ;  while,onthe  other  hand, 
the  irascible  and  turbulent  spirit  of  the  nation,  and 
a  habitual  use  of  arms,  exposed  them  to  aversion 
and  hatred.  This  peculiar  characteristic  was,  at 
the  time  of  the  Union,  very  general  in  Scotland. 
The  Highlanders,  you  must  remember,  always  car- 
ried weapons,  and  if  thought  of  at  all  by  their  south- 
'em  neighbours,  they  must  have  been  considered  as 
absolute    and  irreclaimable   savages.      The   Low- 


DIVIDED   FEELINGS   IN   ENGLAND  Q 

landers  were  also  used  to  arms  at  this  period,  for 
almost  the  whole  Scottish  nation  had  been  trained 
under  the  Act  of  Security  ;  the  population  was  dis- 
tributed into  regiments,  and  kept  ready  for  action  ; 
and  in  the  gloomy  and  irritated  state  of  mind  m 
which  the  Scots  had  been  placed  by  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Union  treaty,  they  spoke  of  nothing 
more  loudly  and  willingly  than  of  a  war  with  Eng- 
land. The  English  had  their  especial  reasons  for 
disliking  the  Union.  They  did  not  in  general,  feel 
flattered  by  the  intimate  confederacy  and  identifica- 
tion of  their  own  rich  country  and  civilized  inhabi- 
tants with  the  boreal  region  of  the  North,  and  its 
rude  and  savage  tribes.  They  were  afraid  that  the 
craft,  and  patient  endurance  of  labour  of  the  Scots, 
would  give  them  more  than  their  share  of  colonial 
trade  which  they  had  hitherto  monopolized  to  them- 
selves. 

Yet,  thtjugh  such  was  the  opinion  held  by  the 
English  in  general,  the  more  enlightened  part  of  the 
nation,  remembering  the  bloody  wars  which  had 
so  long  desolated  Britain  in  its  divided  state,  dated 
from  the  Union  an  era  of  peace  and  happiness  to 
both  countries  ;  and,  looking  far  into  futurity,  fore- 
saw a  time  when  the  national  prejudices,  which  for 
the  present  ran  so  high,  would  die  out,  or  be  eradi- 
cated, like  the  weeds  which  deface  the  labours  of 
the  agriculturist,  and  give  place  to  plenty  and  to 
peace.  It  was  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  such 
feelings,  that  the  Duke  of  Queensberry,  the  prin- 
cipal negotiator  of  the  treaty  of  Union,  when  he 
left  Scotland  for  London  after  the  measure  was  per- 
fected, was  received  with  the  greatest  distinction  in 


10         UNIVERSAL   DISCONTENT    WITH   THE 

the  English  towns  through  which  he  passed.  And 
when  he  approached  the  neighbourhood  of  London, 
many  of  the  members  of  the  two  Houses  came  to 
meet  and  congratulate  a  statesman,  who,  but  for  the 
guards  that  surrounded  him,  would  during  the  pro 
gress  of  the  treaty,  have  been  destroyed  by  his  coun- 
trymen in  the  streets  of  Edinburgh  ! 

In  England,  therefore,  the  Union  had  its  friends 
and  partisans.  In  Scotland  it  was  .regarded  with 
an  almost  universal  feeling  of  discontent  and  dis- 
honour. The  Jacobite  party,  who  had  entertained 
great  hopes  of  eluding  the  act  for  settling  the  king- 
dom upon  the  family  of  Hanover,  beheld  them  en 
tirely  blighted ;  the  Whigs,  or  Presbyterians,  found 
themselves  forming  part  of  a  nation  in  which  Prela- 
cy was  an  institution  of  the  state ;  the  Country  par- 
ty, who  had  nourished  a  vain  but  honourable  idea 
of  maintaining  the  independence  of  Scotland,  now 
saw  it  wdth  all  its  symbols  of  ancient  sovereignty, 
sunk  and  merged  under  the  government  of  England. 
All  the  different  professions  and  classes  of  men  saw 
each  something  in  the  obnoxious  treaty,  which  af- 
fected their  own  interest. 

The  nobles  of  an  ancient  and  proud  land,  which 
they  were  wont  to  manage  at  their  pleasure,  were 
now  stripped  of  their  legislative  privilege,  unless  in 
as  far  as  exercised,  like  the  rights  of  a  petty  corpor- 
ation, by  a  handful  of  delegates  ;  the  smaller  barons 
and  gentry  shared  their  humiliation,  their  little  band 
of  representatives  being  too  few^,  and  their  voices 
too  feeble  to  produce  any  weight  in  the  British 
House  of  Commons,  to  which  a  small  portion  was 
admitted. 


UNION    IN    SCOTLAND.  11 


The  clergy's  apprehension  for  their  own  system 
of  church  discipline  was  sensitively  awakened,  and 
their  frequent  warnings  from  the  pulpit  kept  the 
terror  of  innovation  before  their  congregations. 

The  Scottish  lawyers  had  equal  reason  for  alarm. 
They  witnessed  what  they  considered  as  the  degra- 
dation of  their  profession,  and  of  the  laws,  to  the 
exposition  of  which  they  had  been  bred  up.  They 
saw  their  supreme  civil  court,  which  had  spumed 
at  the  idea  of  having  their  decrees  reviewed  even 
in  the  Parliament,  now  subjected  to  appeal  to  the 
British  House  of  Peers  ;  a  body  who  could  be  ex- 
pected to  know  little  of  law  at  all,  and  in  which  the 
Chancellor,  who  presided,  was  trained  in  the  juris- 
prudence of  another  country.  Besides,  when  the 
sceptre  departed  from  Scotland,  and  the  lawgiver 
no  longer  sat  at  her  feet,  it  was  likely  that  her  mu- 
nicipal regulations  should  be  gradually  assimilated  to 
those  of  England,  and  that  her  lawyers  should  by 
degrees  be  laid  aside  and  rendered  useless,  by  the 
introduction  of  the  institutions  of  a  foreign  coun- 
try which  were  strange  to  their  studies. 

The  merchants  and  trading  portion  of  Scotland 
also  found  grievances  in  the  Union  peculiar  to  them- 
selves. The  privileges  which  admitted  the  Scots 
into  the  colonial  trade  of  England,  only  represented 
the  apples  of  Tantalus,  so  long  as  local  prejudices, 
want  of  stock,  and  all  the  difficulties  incident  to 
forcing  capital  into  a  new  channel,  or  line  of  busi- 
ness, obstructed  their  benefiting  by  them.  On  the 
other  hand,  they  lost  all  the  advantage  of  their  for- 
eign trade  whenever  their  traffic  became  obstructed 
by  the  imposition  of  English  duties.     They  lost  at 


12  U^'IVERSAL    DISCONTENT    WITH    THE 

the  same  time,  a  beneficial,  though  illicit  trade,  with 
England  itself,  Avhich  took  place  in  consequence  of 
foreign  commodities  being  so  much  cheaper  in  Scot- 
land. Lastly,  the  establishment  of  two  Boards  of 
Customs  and  Excise,  with  the  introdction  of  a  shoal 
of  officers,  all  Englishmen,  and,  it  was  said,  fre- 
quently men  of  indifferent  and  loose  character,  was 
severely  felt  by  the  commercial  part  of  a  nation, 
Vv'hose  poverty  had  hitherto  kept  them  tolerably  free 
from  taxation. 

The  tradesmen  and  citizens  were  injured  in  tlie 
tenderest  point,  by  the  general  emigration  of  fami- 
lies of  rank  and  condition,  who  naturally  went  to  re- 
side in  London,  not  only  to  attend  their  duties  in 
Parliament,  but  to  watch  for  those  opportunities  of 
receiving  favours  which  are  only  to  be  obtained  by 
being  constantly  near  the  source  of  preferment ;  not 
to  mention  numerous  families  of  consequence,  who 
went  to  the  metropolis  merely  for  fashion's  sake. 
This  general  emigration  naturally  drained  Scotland 
of  the  income  of  the  non-residents,  who  expended 
their  fortunes  among  strangers,  to  the  prejudice  of 
those  of  their  country  folk,  who  had  formerly  lived 
by  supplying  them  with  necessaries  or  luxuries. 

'  The  agricultural  interests  was  equally  affected  by 
the  scarcity  of  money,  which  the  new  laws,  the  mo- 
ney drawn  by  emigrants  from  their  Scottish  estates, 
to  meet  the  unwonted  expenses  of  London,  the  de- 
cay of  external  commerce,  and  of  internal  trade,  all 
contributed  to  produce. 

Besides  these  particular  grievances  which  affected 
certain  classes  or  professions,  the  Scots  felt  gener- 
ally the  degradation,  as  they  conceived  it,  of  their 


UNION    IN    SCOTLAND.  13 

country  being  rendered  the  subservient  ally  of  the 
state,  of  which,  though  infinitely  more  powerful, 
they  had  resisted  the  efforts  for  the  space  of  two 
thousand  years.  The  poorest  and  meanest,  as  well 
€is  the  richest  and  most  noble,  felt  that  he  shared  the 
national  honour ;  and  the  former  was  ev  en  more 
deeply  interested  in  preserving  it  untarnished  than 
the  latter,  because  he  had  no  dignity  or  considera- 
tion due  to  him  personally  or  individually,  beyond 
that  which  belonged  to  him  as  a  native  of  Scotland. 

There  was,  therefore,  nothing  save  discontent 
and  lamentation  to  be  heard  throughout  Scotland, 
and  men  of  every  class  vented  their  complaints 
against  the  Union  the  more  loudly,  because  their 
sense  of  personal  grievances  might  be  concealed 
and  yet  indulged  under  popular  declamations  con- 
cerning the  dishonour  done  to  the  country. 

To  all  these  subjects  of  complaint  there  lay  obvi- 
ous answers,  grounded  on  the  future  benefits  which 
the  Union  was  calculated  to  produce,  and  the  pros- 
pect of  the  advantages  which  have  since  arisen  from 
it.  But  at  the  time  immediately  succeeding  that 
treaty,  these  benefits  were  only  the  subject  of  dis- 
tant and  doubtful  speculation,  while  the  immediate 
evils  which  we  have  detailed  were  present,  tangible, 
and  certain.  There  was  a  want  of  advocates  for 
the  Union,  as  well  as  of  arguments  having  immedi- 
ate and  direct  cogency.  A  considerable  number 
of  the  regular  clergy,  indeed,  who  did  not  share  the 
feverish  apprehensions  of  prelatic  innovation,  which 
was  a  bugbear  to  the  majority  of  their  order,  con- 
cluded it  was  the  sounder  policy  to  adhere  to  the 
Union  with  England,  under  the  sovereignty  of  a 

VOL.    1.  2 


14  ODIUM    AGAINST    THE    CLERGY. 

Protestant  Prince,  than  to  bring  back,  under  King 
James  VII.,  the  evils  in  church  and  state  which  had 
occasioned  the  downfall  of  his  father.  But  by  such 
arguments,  the  ministers  who  used  them  only  low- 
ered themselves  in  the  eyes  of  the  people,  who  pet- 
ulantly replied  to  their  pastors,  that  none  had  been 
more  loud  than  they  against  the  Union,  until  they 
had  got  their  own  manses,*  glebes,  and  stipendsf 
assured  to  them ;  although,  that  being  done,  they 
were  now  contented  to  yield  up  the  civil  rights  of 
the  Scottish  monarchy,  and  endanger  the  stability 
of  the  Scottish  church.  Their  hearers  abandoned 
the  kirks,  and  refused  to  attend  the  religious  ordi- 
nances of  such  clergymen  as  favoured  the  Union, 
and  went  in  crowds  to  wait  upon  the  doctrines  of 
those  who  preached  against  the  treaty  with  the  same 
zeal  with  which  they  had  formerly  magnified  the 
Covenant.  Almost  all  the  dissenting  and  Came- 
ronian  ministers  were  anti-unionists,  and  some  of 
the  more  enthusiastic  were  so  peculiarly  vehement, 
that  long  after  the  controversy  had  fallen  asleep,  I 
have  heard  my  grandfather  say,  (for  your  grand- 
father, Mr.  Hugh  Littlejohn,  had  a  grandfather  in 
his  time,)  that  he  had  heard  an  old  clergyman  con- 
fess he  could  never  bring  his  sermon,  upon  what- 
ever subject,  to  a  conclusion,  without  having  what 
he  called  a  blaud,  that  is  a  slap  at  the  Union. 

If  the  mouths  of  the  clergymen  who  advocate 
the  treaty  were  stopped  by  reproaches  of  per- 
sonal interest,  with  far  more  justice  were  those  re- 
proaches applied  to  the  greater  part  of  the  civil 
statesmen,  by  whom  the  measure  had  been  carri- 
■*  Angelic— Parsonages.  t  Angelic— Tithes. 


WHO    FAVOURED    Tlliu    UNION.  15 


ed  through  and  completed.  The  people  of  Scot- 
land would  not  hear  these  gentlemen  so  much  as 
speak  upon  the  great  incorporating  alliance,  for  the 
accomplishment  of  which  they  had  laboured  so  ef- 
fectually. Be  the  event  of  the  Union  what  it 
would,  the  objection  was  personal  to  many  of  those 
statesmen  by  whom  it  w^as  carried  through,  that, 
they  had  pressed  the  destruction  of  Scottish  inde- 
pendence, which  it  necessarily  involved,  for  private 
and  selfish  reasons,  resolving  into  the  gratification 
of  their  own  ambition  or  avarice.  They  were 
twitted  with  the  meanness  of  their  conduct  even  in 
the  Parliament  of  Britain.  A  tax  upon  linen 
cloth,  the  staple  commodity  of  Scotland,  having 
been  proposed  in  the  House  of  Commons,  was  re- 
sisted by  Mr.  Baillie  of  Jerviswood,  and  other  Scot- 
tish members,  favourers  of  the  Union,  until  Mr.  Har- 
ley,  who  had  been  Secretary  of  State  during  the 
treaty,  stood  up,  and  cut  short  the  debate,  by  saying, 
"  Have  we  not  bought  the  Scots,  and  did  we  not 
acquire  a  right  to  tax  them  r  or  for  what  other  pur- 
pose did  we  give  the  equivalent  ?"  Lockhart  of 
Carnwath  arose  in  reply,  and  said,  he  was  glad  to 
hear  it  plainly  acknowledged  that  the  Union  had 
been  a  matter  of  bargain,  and  that  Scotland  had 
been  bought  and  sold  on  that  memorable  occasion  ; 
but  he  was  surprised  to  hear  so  great  a  manager  in 
the  traffic  name  the  equivalents  as  the  price,  since 
the  revenue  of  Scotland  itself  being  burdened  in  re- 
lief of  that  sum,  no  price  had  been  in  fact  paid,  but 
what  must  ultimately  be  discharged  by  Scotland 
from  her  own  funds. 

The  detestation  of  the  treaty  being  for  the  pre- 


16  EDUCATION    OF    THE 


sent  the  ruling  passion  of  the  times,  all  other  distinc- 
tions of  party,  and  even  of  religious  opinions  in  Scot- 
land, -were  laid  aside,  and  a  singular  coalition  took 
place,  in  which  Episcopalians,  Presbyterians,  Ca- 
valiers, and  many  friends  of  the  revolution,  drowned 
all  former  hostility  in  the  predominant  aversion  to 
the  Union.  Even  the  Cameronians,  who  now  form- 
ed a  powerful  body  in  the  state,  retained  the  same 
zeal  against  the  Union  when  established,  which  had 
induced  them  to  rise  in  arms  against  it  while  it  was 
in  progress. 

It  was  evident,  that  the  treaty  of  Union  could  not 
be  abolished  without  a  counter-revolution ;  and  for  a 
time  almost  all  the  inhabitants  of  Scotland  were  dis- 
posed to  join  unanimously  in  the  Restoration,  as  it 
was  called,  of  James  the  Second's  son,  to  the 
throne  of  his  fathers ;  and  had  his  ally,  the  King  of 
France,  been  hearty  in  his  cause,  or  his  Scottish 
partisans  more  united  among  themselves,  or  any 
leader  amongst  them  possessed  of  distinguished 
talent,  the  Stewart  family  might  have  repossessed 
themselves  of  their  ancient  domain  of  Scotland,  and 
perhaps  of  England  also.  To  understand  the  cir- 
cumstances by  which  that  hope  was  disappointed, 
it  is  necessary  to  look  back  on  the  history  of  James 
II.,  and  to  take  some  notice  of  the  character  and 
situation  of  his  son. 

The  Chevalier  de  Saint  George,  as  he  was  called 
by  a  conventional  name,  which  neither  gave  nor  de- 
nied his  royal  pretensions,  was  that  unfortunate 
child  of  James  II.,  whose  birth,  which  ought  in  or- 
dinary cases  to  have  been  the  support  of  his  father's 
throne,  became  by  perverse  chance  the  strongest 


CHEVALIER   DE    ST.    GEORGE.  17 

incentive  for  pressing  forward  the  Revolution.  He 
lost  his  hopes  of  a  kingdom,  therefore,  and  was  exil- 
ed from  his  native  country,  ere  he  knew  what  the 
words  country  or  kingdom  signified,  and  lived  at 
the  court  of  Saint  Germains,  where  Louis  XIV. 
permitted  his  father  to  maintain  a  hollow  pageant 
of  royalty.  Thus  the  son  of  James  II.  was  brought 
up  in  what  is  generally  admitted  to  be  the  very 
worst  way  in  which  a  prince  can  be  educated  ;  that 
is,  he  was  surrounded  by  all  the  pomp  and  external 
ceremony  of  imaginary  royalty,  without  learning  by 
experience  any  part  of  its  real  duties  or  actual  busi- 
ness. Idle  and  discontented  men,  who  formed  the 
mimicry  of  a  council,  and  played  the  part  of  minis- 
ters, were  as  deeply  engaged  in  political  intrigues 
for  ideal  offices  and  dignities  at  the  court  of  Saint 
Germains,  as  if  actual  rank  or  emolument  had  at- 
tended them, — as  reduced  gamblers  have  been 
known  to  spend  days  and  nights  in  play,  although 
too  poor  to  stake  any  thing  on  the  issue  of  the  game. 
It  is  no  doubt  true,  that  the  versatility  of  the  states- 
men of  England,  including  some  great  names,  offers 
a  certain  degree  of  apology  for  the  cabinet  of  the  de- 
throned prince,  to  an  extent  even  to  justify  the  hopes 
that  a  counter-revolution  would  soon  take  place,  and 
realize  the  expectations  of  the  St  Germains  cour- 
tiers. It  is  a  misfortune  necessarily  attending  the 
success  of  any  of  those  momentous  changes  of  gov- 
ernment, which,  innovating  upon  the  constitution 
of  a  country,  are  termed  revolutions,  that  the  new 
establishment  of  things  cannot  for  some  time  attain 
that  degree  of  respect  and  veneration  which  antiqui- 
ty can  alone  impress.  Evils  are  felt  under  the  new 
2 


18  EDUCATION    OF    THE 


government,  as  they  must  mider  every  human  in- 
stitution, and  men  readily  reconcile  their  minds  to 
correct  them,  either  by  adopting  further  alterations, 
or  by  returning  to  that  order  of  things  which  they 
have  so  lately  seen  in  existence.  That  which  is 
new  itself,  may,  it  is  supposed,  be  subjected  to  fur- 
ther innovations  without  inconvenience,  and  if  these 
are  deemed  essential  and  necessary,  or  even  advan- 
tageous, there  seems  to  ardent  and  turbulent  spirits 
little  reason  to  doubt,  that  the  force  which  has  suc- 
ceeded so  lately  in  destroying  the  institution  which 
had  the  venerable  sanction  of  antiquity,  may  be 
equally  successful  in  altering  or  remodelling  that 
which  has  been  the  work  of  the  present  generation, 
perhaps  of  the  very  statesmen  who  are  now  desirous 
of  innovating  upon  it.  With  this  disposition  to 
change  still  further  what  has  been  recently  the  sub- 
ject of  alteration,  mingle  other  passions.  There 
must  always  be  many  of  those  that  have  been  active 
in  a  recent  revolution,  who  have  not  derived  the  per- 
sonal advantages  which  they  were  entitled,  or, which 
is  the  same  thing,  thought  themselves  entitled,  to 
expect.  Such  disappointed  men  are  apt,  in  their  re- 
sentment, to  think  that  it  depends  only  upon  them- 
selves to  pull  down  what  they  have  assisted  to  build, 
and  to  rebuild  the  structure  in  the  destruction  of 
which  they  have  been  so  lately  assistants.  This 
was  in  the  utmost  extent  evinced  after  the  English 
Revolution.  Not  only  subordinate  agents,  who 
had  been  active  in  the  Revolution,  but  some  men  of 
the  highest  and  most  distinguished  talents,  were  in- 
duced to  enter  into  plots  for  the  restoration  of  the 
Stewarts,      Marlborough,   Carmarthen,   and    Lord 


CHEVALIER    DE    ST.    GEORGE.  19 

Russell,  were  implicated  in  a  correspondence  with 
France  in  1692  ;  and  indeed,  throughout  the  reigns 
of  William  III.  and  Queen  Anne,  many  men  of 
consequence,  not  willing  explicitly  to  lend  them- 
selves to  counter-revolutionary  plots,  were  yet  not 
reluctant  to  receive  projects,  letters,  and  promises 
from  the  ex-king,  and  return  in  exchange  vague  ex- 
pressions of  good-will  for  the  cause  of  their  old 
monarch,  and  respect  for  his  person. 

It  is  no  wonder,  therefore,  that  the  Jacobite  min- 
isters at  St  Germains  were  by  such  negotiations 
rendered  confident  that  a  counter-revolution  was 
approaching,  or  that  they  intrigued  for  their  share 
in  the  honours  and  power  which  they  conceived 
would  be  very  soon  at  their  master's  disposal.  In 
this  they  might,  indeed,  have  resembled  the  hunt- 
ers in  the  fable,  who  sold  the  bear's  hide  before 
they  had  killed  him  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  they 
were  less  like  simpletons  who  spend  their  time  in 
gambling  for  nothing,  than  eager  gamesters  who 
play  for  a  stake,  which  though  they  do  not  yet  pos- 
sess, they  soon  expect  to  have  at  their  disposal. 

Amid  such  petty  and  empty  feuds,  it  was  not 
likely  that  the  son  of  James  II.  should  greatly  aug- 
ment the  strength  of  mind  of  which  nature  had 
given  him  but  a  small  share,  especially  as  his  father 
had  laid  aside  those  habits  of  business  with  which 
he  was  once  familiar,  and  resigning  all  hopes  of 
his  restoration,  had  abandoned  himself  entirely  to 
the  severities  of  ascetic  devotion.  From  his  de- 
vice and  examples,  therefore,  the  Chevalier  de  St. 
George  could  derive  no  advantage ;  and  Heaven 
had  not  granted  him  the  talents  which  supply  the 
place  of  instruction. 


20  PROMISE    OF    LOUIS    XIV. 


The  heir  of  this  ancient  line  was  not,  however, 
deficient  in  external  qualities  which  associate  well 
with  such  distinguished  claims.  He  was  of  tall 
stature,  and  possessed  a  nobly  formed  countenance, 
and  courteous  manners.  He  had  made  one  or  two 
campaigns  with  applause,  and  showed  no  deficien- 
cy of  courage,  if  he  did  not  display  much  energy. 
He  appears  to  have  been  good-humoured,  kind,  and 
tractable.  In  short,  born  to  a  throne,  and  with 
judicious  ministers,  he  might  have  been  a  popular 
prince ;  but  he  had  not  the  qualities  necessary 
either  to  win  or  to  regain  a  kingdom. 

Immediately  before  the  death  of  his  unfortunate 
father,  the  Chevalier  de  St  George  was  consigned 
to  the  protection  of  Louis  XIV.  in  an  aff'ecting  man- 
ner. The  French  monarch  came  for  the  last  time, 
to  bid  adieu  to  his  unfortunate  ally  when  stretched 
on  his  deathbed.  Affected  by  the  pathos  of  the 
scene,  and  possessing  in  reality  a  portion  of  that  roy- 
al magnanimity  by  which  he  was  so  ambitious  of 
being  distinguished,  Louis  declared  publicly  his  pur- 
pose to  recognise  the  title  of  his  friend's  son,  as  heir 
to  the  throne  of  Britain,  and  take  his  family  under 
his  protection.  The  dying  prince  half  raised  himself 
from  his  bed,  and  endeavoured  to  speak  his  grati- 
tude ;  but  his  failing  accents  were  drowned  -^n  a 
murmur  of  mingled  grief  and  joy  which  broke  from 
his  faithful  followers.  They  were  melted  into  tears, 
in  which  Louis  himself  joined.  And  thus  was  giv- 
en, in  a  moment  of  enthusiasm,  a  promise  of  sup- 
port which  the  French  king  had  afterwards  reason 
to  repent  of,  as  he  could  not  gracefully  shake  off  an 
engagement  contracted  under  such  circumstances 


INTRIGUES    OF    THE   JACOBITES.  21 

of  affecting  solemnity ;  although  in  after  periods 
of  his  reign,  he  was  little  able  to  supply  the  Cheva- 
lier de  St  George  with  such  succours  as  his  prom- 
ise had  entitled  that  prince  to  expect. 

Louis  was  particularly  embarrassed  by  the  nu- 
merous plans  and  schemes  for  the  invasion  of  Scot- 
land and  England,  proposed  either  by  real  Jacobites 
eager  to  distinguish  themselves  by  their  zeal,  or  by 
adventurers,  who,  like  the  noted  Captain  Simon 
Fraser,  assumed  that  character,  so  as  to  be  enabled 
either  to  forward  the  Chevalier  de  Saint  George's 
interest,  or  betray  his  purpose  to  the  English  minis- 
try^ whichever  might  best  advance  the  interest  of  the 
emissary.  This  Captain  Fraser,  (afterwards  the 
celebrated  Lord  Lovat,)  was  looked  upon  with  cold- 
ness by  the  Chevalier  and  Lord  Middleton  his  sec- 
retary, but  he  gained  the  confidence  of  Mary  of 
Este,  the  widow  of  James  IL  Being  at  length, 
through  her  influence,  dispatched  to  Scotland,  Fra- 
ser trafficked  openly  with  both  parties  ;  and  al- 
though whilst  travelling  through  the  Highlands,  he 
held  the  character  and  language  of  a  highflying  Ja- 
cobite, and  privately  betrayed  whatever  he  could 
worm  out  of  them  to  the  Duke  of  Queensberry,  then 
the  Royal  Commissioner  and  Representative  of 
Queen  Anne,  he  had  nevertheless  the  audacity  to 
return  to  France,  and  use  the  language  of  an  injur- 
ed and  innocent  man,  till  he  was  thrown  into  the 
Bastile  for  his  double  dealing.  It  is  probable  that 
this  interlude  of  Captain  Fraser,  which  happened 
in  1703,  contributed  to  give  Louis  a  distrust  of 
Scottish  Jacobite  agents,  and  inclined  him,  not- 
withstanding the  general  reports  of  disaffection  to 


22  PERPLEXING    TO    LOUIS    XIV. 

Queen  Anne's  government,  to  try  the  temper  of  the 
country  by  an  agent  of  his  own,  before  resolving 
to  give  any  considerable  assistance  towards  an  in- 
vasion, which  his  wars  in  Flanders,  and  the  victo- 
ries of  Marlborough,  rendered  him  ill  able  to  under- 
take. 


I      23     ] 


CHAP.  II. 

The  Spirit  of  Jacobitism  kept  alive  by  the  improper  manner  in 
which  the  Treaty  of  Union  was  concluded — Mission  of  Lieut. 
Col.  Hooks  fron'i  France  to  promote  a  Rebellion  in  Scotland  — 
State  of  the  Jacobite  Party  under  the  Dukes  of  Athole  and 
Hamilton — Negotiations  ofHooke — Preparations  of  the  French 
King  for  an  Expedition  in  behalf  of  the  Chevalier  de  St  George, 
and  Arrival  of  the  Chevalier  at  Dunkirk  to  join  it — General 
alarm  in  England — Sailing  of  the  French  Fleet — Their  arrival 
in  the  Frith  of  Forth,  and  Return  to  Dunkirk,  without  Landing 
—Vacillating  Conduct  of  the  Duke  of  Hamilton— Trial  and  ac- 
quital  of  tlie  Stirlingshire  Jacobites — Introduction  of  Cora- 
missions  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  into  Scotland— Abolition  of  Ex- 
aminations by  Torture— Penalties  formerly  annexed  to  Cases  of 
High  Treason. 

There  are  two  reflections  which  arise  from 
what  we  have  stated  in  the  former  chapter,  too 
natural  to  escape  observation. 

In  the  first  place,  we  are  led  to  conclude  that  all 
leagues  or  treaties  between  nations,  which  are  de- 
signed to  be  permanent,  should  be  grounded  not 
only  on  equitable,  but  on  liberal  principles.  What- 
ever advantages  are  assumed  from  the  superior 
strength,  or  more  insidiously  attained  by  the  supe- 
rior cunning,  of  one  party  or  the  other,  operate  as 
so  many  principles  of  decay,  by  which  the  security 
of  the  league  is  greatly  endangered,  if  not  actually 
destroyed.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  open 
corruption  and  precipitate  violence  with  which  the 
Union  was  forced  on,  retarded  for  two  generations 
the  benefits  which  would  otherwise  have  arisen 
from  it ;  and  that  resentment,  not  so  much  against 
the  measure  itself,  as  against  the  disadvantageous 


24  MISSION    OF    A    FRENCH    AGENT 

terms  granted  to  Scotland,  gave  rise  to  two,  or, 
taking  into  account  the  battle  of  Glensheal,  to  three 
civil  wars,  with  all  peculiar  miseries  which  attend- 
ed them.  The  personal  adherence  of  many  indi- 
viduals to  the  Stewart  family  might  have  preserved 
Jacobite  sentiments  for  a  generation,  but  would 
scarce  have  had  intensity  sufficient  to  kindle  a  gen- 
eral flame  in  the  country,  had  not  the  sense  of  the 
unjust  and  illiberal  manner  in  which  the  Union 
was  concluded  come  in  aid  of  the  zeal  of  the 
Jacobites,  to  create  a  general  or  formidable  attack 
on  the  existing  government.  As  the  case  actually 
stood,  we  shall  presently  see  how  narrowly  the 
Union  itself  escaped  destruction,  and  the  nation  a 
counter-revolution. 

This  conducts  us  to  the  second  remark,  which  I 
wish  you  to  attend  to,  namely,  how  that,  with  all 
the  facilities  of  intercourse  afforded  by  the  manners 
of  modern  nations,  it  nevertheless  is  extremely  dif- 
ficult for  one  government  to  obtain  what  they  may 
consider  as  trustworthy  information  concerning  the 
internal  aftairs  and  actual  condition  of  another  either 
from  the  statements  of  partisans,  who  profess  them- 
selves in  league  with  the  state  which  makes  the 
inquiry,  or  from  agents  of  their  own,  sent  on  pur- 
pose to  pursue  the  investigation.  The  first  class 
of  informants  deceive  their  correspondents  and 
themselves,  by  the  warm  and  sanguine  view  which 
they  take  of  the  strength  and  importance  of  their 
own  party  ;  the  last  are  incapable  of  forming  a 
correct  judgment  of  what  they  see  and  hear, 
for  want  of  that  habitual  and  familiar  know- 
ledge of  tho  manners  of  a  country  which  is  neces- 


TO    SCOTLAND.  25 


sary  to  enable  them  to  judge  what  peculiar  al- 
lowances ought  to  be  made,  and  what  special 
restrictions  may  be  necessary,  in  interpreting  the 
language  of  those  with  whom  they  communicate 
on  the  subject  of  their  mission. 

This  was  exemplified  in  the  enquiries  instituted 
by  Louis  XIV.  for  ascertaining  the  exact  disposi- 
tion of  the  people  of  Scotland  towards  the  Chev- 
alier de  St  George.  The  agent  employed  by  the 
French  monarch  was  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hooke, 
an  Englishman  of  good  family.  This  gentleman 
followed  King  James  IL  to  France,  and  was  there 
received  into  the  service  of  Louis  XIV.  to  which 
he  seems  to  have  become  so  much  attached  as  to 
have  been  comparatively  indifferent  to  that  of  the 
son  of  his  former  master.  His  instructions  from 
the  French  King  were,  to  engage  the  Scots  who 
might  be  disposed  for  an  insurrection  as  deeply  as 
possible  to  France,  but  to  avoid  precise  promises, 
by  which  he  might  compromise  France  in  any  cor- 
responding obligation  respecting  assistance  or  sup- 
plies. In  a  word,  the  Jacobite  or  anti-unionist 
party  were  to  have  leave  from  Louis  to  attempt  a 
rebellion  against  Queen  Anne,  at  their  own  proper 
risk,  providing  the  Grand  Monarque,  as  he  was  gen- 
erally termed,  should  be  no  further  bound  to  aid 
them  in  the  enterprise,  or  protect  them  in  case  of 
its  failure,  than  he  should  think  consistent  with  his 
magnanimity,  and  convenient  for  his  affairs.  This 
was  no  doubt  a  bargain  by  which  nothing  could  be 
lost  by  France,  but  it  had  been  made  with  too  great 
anxiety  to  avoid  hazard,  to  be  attended  with  much 
chance  of  gaining  by  it. 
VOL.  1.  '    3 


26  THE    JACOBITE    PARTY. 

With  these  instructions  Colonel  Hooke  departed 
for  Scotland  in  the  end  of  February  or  beginning  ol 
March  1707,  where  he  found,  as  has  been  describ- 
ed by  the  correspondence  kept  up  with  the  Scots, 
different  classes  of  people  eager  to  join  in  an  in 
surrection,  with  the  purpose  of  breaking  the  Union, 
and  restoring  the  Stewart  family  to  the  throne. 
We  must  first  mention  the  state  in  which  he  found 
the  Jacobite  party,  with  whom  principally  he  came 
to  communicate. 

This  party,  which,  as  it  now  included  the  Coun- 
try faction,  and  all  others  who  favoured  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  Union,  was  much  more  universally  ex- 
tended than  at  any  other  period  in  Scottish  history, 
either  before  or  afterwards,  was  divided  into  two 
parties,  having  for  their  heads  the  Dukes  of  Hamil- 
ton and  Athole,  noblemen  who  stood  in  opposition 
to  each  other  in  claiming  the  title  of  the  leader  o 
the  Jacobite  interests.  If  these  two  great  men  were 
to  be  estimated  according  to  their  fidelity  to  the 
cause  which  they  had  espoused,  their  pretensions 
were  tolerably  equal,  for  neither  of  them  could  lay 
much  claim  to  the  honour  due  to  political  consist- 
ency. The  conduct  of  Athole  during  the  Revolu- 
tion had  been  totally  adverse  to  the  royal  interest ; 
and  that  of  the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  on  his  part, 
though  affecting  to  act  as  head  of  the  opposition  to 
the  Union,  was  such  as  to  induce  some  suspicion 
that  he  was  in  league  with  the  government ;  since, 
whenever  a  decisive  stand  was  to  be  made,  Hamil- 
ton was  sure  to  find  some  reason,  better  or  worse, 
to  avoid  coming  to  extremities  with  the  opposite 
party.     Nothwithstanding  such  repeated  acts  of  de- 


JACOBITES  EAGER  FOR  INSURRECTION.   27 

fection  on  the  part  of  these  great  dukes,  their  rank, 
talents,  and  the  reliance  on  their  general  sincerity 
in  the  Jacobite  cause,  occasioned  men  of  that  par- 
ty to  attach  themselves  as  partisans  to  one  or  other 
of  them.  It  was  natural  that,  generally  speaking, 
men  should  choose  for  their  leader  the  most  influ- 
ential person  in  whose  neighbourhood  they  them- 
selves resided,  or  had  their  property ;  and  thus  the 
Highland  Jacobites  beyond  the  Tay  rallied  under 
the  Duke  of  Athole ;  those  of  the  south  and  west, 
under  the  Duke  of  Hamilton.  From  this  it  also 
followed,  that  the  two  divisions  of  the  same  faction, 
being  of  different  provinces,  and  in  different  cir- 
cumstances, held  separate  opinions  as  to  the  course 
to  be  pursued  in  the  intended  restoration. 

The  northern  Jacobites,  who  had  more  power  of 
raising  men,  and  less  of  levying  money,  than  those 
of  the  south,  were  for  rushing  at  once  into  war  with- 
out any  delay,  or  stipulation  of  foreign  assistance ; 
and  without  further  aid  than  their  own  good  hearts 
and  ready  swords,  expressed  themselves  determin- 
ed to  place  on  the  throne  him  whom  they  termed 
the  lawful  heir. 

When  Hooke  entered  into  correspondence  with 
this  class  of  the  Jacobite  party,  he  found  it  easy  to 
induce  them  to  dispense  with  any  special  or  precise 
stipulations  concerning  the  amount  of  the  succours 
ot  be  furnished  by  France,  whether  in  the  shape  of 
arms,  money,  or  auxiliaries,  so  soon  as  he  repre- 
sented to  them  that  any  specific  negotiation  of  this 
kind  would  be  indelicate  and  unhandsome  to  the 
King  of  France,  and  probably  diminish  his  inclina- 
tion to  serve  the  Chevalier   de   St   George.     On 


28       CAUTION    OF    THE    WESTERN    JACOBITES. 

this  point  of  pretended  delicacy  were  these  poor 
gentlemen  induced  to  pledge  themselves  to  risks 
likely  to  prove  fatal  to  themselves,  their  rank,  and 
their  posterity,  without  any  of  the  reasonable  pre- 
cautions which  were  absolutely  necessary  to  save 
them  from  destruction. 

But  when  the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  Lord  Kilsythe, 
Lockhart  of  Carnwath,  Cochrane  of  Kilmaronock, 
and  other  leaders  among  the  Jacobites  of  the  west, 
had  a  conference  with  Colonel  Hooke,  their  an- 
swers were  of  a  different  tenor.  They  thought 
that  to  render  the  plan  of  insurrection  at  all  feasi- 
ble, there  should  be  a  distinct  engagement  on  the 
part  of  the  King  of  France,  to  send  over  the  Che- 
valier de  St  George  to  Scotland,  with  an  auxiliary 
army  of  ten,  or,  at  the  very  least,  of  eight  thousand 
men.  Colonel  Hooke  used  very  haughty  language 
in  answer  to  this  demand,  which  he  termed  a  "pre- 
suming to  give  advice  to  Louis  XIV.  how  to  man- 
age his  own  affairs  ;"  as  if  it  had  not  been  the  busi- 
ness of  the  Jacobites  themselves  to  leam  to  what 
extent  they  weie  to  expect  support,  before  staking 
their  lands  and  lives  in  so  dangerous  an  enterprise. 

The  extent  of  Colonel  Hooke's  success  was  ob- 
taining a  memorial,  signed  by  ten  lords  and  Chiefs, 
acting  in  the  name,  as  they  state,  of  the  bulk  of  the 
nation,  but  particularly  of  thirty  persons  of  distinc- 
tion, from  whom  they  had  special  mandates,  in 
which  paperthey  agreed  that  upon  the  arrival  of  the 
Chevalier  de  St  George,  they  would  make  him  mas- 
ter of  Scotland,  which  was  entirely  in  his  interest, 
and  immediately  thereafter  proceed  to  raise  an  ar- 
my of  twenty-five  thousand  foot,  and  five  thousand 


COLONEL  HOOKE's  NEGOTIATIONS.  29 


horse.  With  this  force  they  proposed  to  march  in- 
to England,  seize  upon  Newcastle,  and  distress  the 
city  of  London  by  interrupting  the  coal  trade.  They 
stated  their  hope  that  the  King  would  send  with  the 
Chevalier  an  auxiliary  army  of  at  least  five  thousand 
men,  some  officers,  and  a  general  of  high  ranks,  such 
as  the  Scottish  nobles  would  not  scruple  to  obey. 
The  Duke  of  Berwick,  a  natural  son  of  the  late 
king,  and  a  general  of  first-rate  talent,  was  partic- 
ularly fixed  upon.  They  also  complained  of  a  want 
of  field-pieces,  battering  cannon,  and  arms  of  every 
kind,  and  stated  their  desire  of  a  supply.  And 
lastly,  they  dwelt  upon  the  need  they  had  of  a  sub- 
sidy of  six  hundred  thousand  livres,  to  enable  them 
to  begin  the  war.  But  they  stated  these  in  the  shape 
of  humble  requests,  rather  than  demands  or  condi- 
tions, and  submitted  themselves  in  the  same  memo- 
rial to  any  modification  or  alteration  of  the  terms, 
which  might  render  them  more  acceptable  to  King 
Louis.  Thus  Hooke  made  good  the  important  point 
in  his  instructions,  which  enjoined  him  to  take  the 
Scottish  Jacobites  bound  as  far  as  possible  to  the 
King  of  France,  while  he  should  on  no  account 
enter  into  any  negotiations  which  might  bind  his 
Majesty  to  any  counter  stipulations.  Louis  showed 
considerable  address  in  playing  this  game,  as  it  is 
vulgarly  called,  of  Fast  and  Loose,  giving  every 
reason  to  conclude  that  his  ministers,  if  not  the  sov- 
ereign himself,  looked  less  upon  the  invasion  of 
Scotland  as  the  means  of  effecting  a  counter-revo- 
lution, than  in  the  light  of  a  diversion,  which  would 
oblige  the  British  to  withdraw  a  large  proportion  of 
the  troops  which  they  employed  in  Flanders,  and 

o 


30  COLONEL    HOOKE'S    NEGOTIATIONS. 

thus  obtain  a  superiority  for  France  on  the  general 
theatre  of  war.  With  this  purpose,  and  to  take  the 
chance,  doubtless,  of  fortunate  events,  and  the  gen- 
erally discontented  state  of  Scotland,  the  French 
court  received  and  discussed  at  their  leisure  the 
prodigal  offer  of  the  Scottish  Jacobites. 

At  length,  after  many  delays,  the  French  mon- 
arch actually  determined  upon  making  an  effort. 
It  was  resolved  to  send  to  Scotland  the  heir  of  the 
ancient  kings  of  that  country,  with  a  body  of  about 
five  or  six  thousand  men,  being  the  force  thought 
necessary  by  the  faction  of  Athole — that  of  Hamil- 
ton having  demanded  eight  thousand  men  at  the 
very  least.  It  was  agreed,  that  the  Chevalier  de 
St  George  should  embark  at  Dunkirk  with  this  lit- 
tle army,  and  that  the  fleet  should  be  placed  under 
the  command  of  the  Comte  de  Forbin,  who  had 
distinguished  himself  by  several  naval  exploits. 

When  the  plan  was  communicated  by  IMonsieur 
de  Pontchartrain,  then  minister  for  naval  affairs, 
the  commodore  stated  numerous  objections  to 
throwing  so  large  a  force  ashore  on  the  naked  beach, 
without  being  assured  of  possessing  a  single  har- 
bour, or  fortified  place,  which  might  serve  them  for 
a  defence  against  the  troops  which  the  English  gov- 
ernment would  presently  dispatch  against  them. 
"  If,"  pursued  Forbin,  "  you  have  five  thousand 
troops  to  throw  away  on  a  desperate  expedition, 
give  me  the  command  of  them ;  I  will  embark  them 
in  shallops  and  light  vessels,  and  I  vrill  surprise 
Amsterdam,  and,  by  destroying  the  commerce  of 
the  Dutch  capital,  take  away  all  means  and  desire 
on  the  part  of  the  United  Provinces  to  continue  the 


EXPEDITION    FROM    DUNKIRK.  31 

war." — "  Let  us  have  no  more  of  this,"  replied  the 
minister;  ^'you  are  called  upon  to  execute  the  king's 
commands,  not  to  discuss  them.  His  majesty  has 
promised  to  the  King  and  Queen  Dowager  of  Eng- 
land, (the  Chevalier  de  St  George  and  Mary 
d'Este,)  that  he  is  to  give  them  the  stipulated  as- 
sistance, and  you  are  honoured  with  the  task  of 
fulfilling  his  royal  word."  To  hear  was  to  obey, 
and  the  Comte  de  Forbin  set  himself  about  the  ex- 
ecution of  the  design  intrusted  to  him  ;  but  with  a 
secret  reluctance,  which  boded  ill  for  the  expedi- 
tion, since,  in  bold  undertakings,  success  is  chiefly 
insured  by  the  zeal,  confidence,  and  hearty  co-ope- 
ration of  those  to  whom  the  execution  is  commit- 
ted. Forbin  was  so  far  from  being  satisfied  with 
the  commission  assigned  him,  that  he  started  a 
thousand  difficulties  and  obstacles,  all  of  which  he 
was  about  to  repeat  to  the  monarch  himself  in  a 
private  interview,  when  Louis  obsersang  the  turn 
of  his  conversation,  cut  his  restive  admiral  short  by 
telling  him,  that  he  was  busy  at  that  moment,  and 
wished  him  a  good  voyage. 

The  commander  of  the  land  forces  was  the 
Comte  de  Gace  who  afterwards  bore  the  title  of 
Marechal  de  Matignon.  Twelve  battalions  were 
embarked  on  board  of  eight  ships  of  the  line  and 
twenty-four  frigates,  besides  transports  and  shal- 
lops for  disembarkation.  The  King  of  France  dis- 
played his  magnificence,  by  supplying  the  Chevalier 
de  St  George  with  a  royal  wardrobe,  services  of 
gold  and  silver  plate,  rich  liveries  for  his  attendants, 
splendid  uniforms  for  his  guards,  and  all  external 
appurtenances  befitting    the  rank  of   a   sovereign 


32  EXPEDITION    FROM    DUNKIRK. 

priuce.  At  parting,  Louis  bestowed  on  his  2;uest  a 
sword,  having  its  hilt  set  with  diamonds,  and,  with 
that  felicity  of  compliment  which  was  natural  to  him 
above  all  other  princes,  expressed,  as  the  best  wish 
he  could  bestow  upon  his  departing  friend,  his  hope 
that  they  might  never  meet  again.  It  was  ominous 
that  Louis  used  the  same  turn  of  courtesy  in  bid- 
ding adieu  to  the  Chevalier's  father,  previous  to  the 
battle  of  La  Hogue. 

The  Chevalier  departed  for  Dunkirk,  and  em- 
barked the  troops  ;  and  thus  far  all  had  been  con- 
ducted with  such  perfect  secrecy,  that  England  was 
totally  unaware  of  the  attempt  which  was  meditated. 
But  an  accident  at  the  same  time  retarded  the  en- 
terprise, and  made  it  public.  This  was  the  illness 
of  the  Chevalier  de  St  George,  who  was  seized 
with  the  measles.  It  could  then  no  longer  remain 
a  secret  that  he  was  lying  sick  in  Dunkirk,  with 
the  purpose  of  heading  an  expedition,  for  which  the 
troops  were  already  embarked. 

It  was  scarcely  possible  to  imagine  a  country 
more  unprepared  for  such  an  attack  than  England, 
unless  it  were  Scotland.  The  great  majority  of 
the  English  army  were  then  in  Flanders.  There 
only  remained  within  the  kingdom  five  thousand 
men,  and  these  chiefly  new  levies.  The  situation 
of  Scotland  was  still  more  defenceless.  Edinburgh 
castle  was  alike  unfurnished  with  garrison,  artille- 
ry, ammunition,  and  stores.  There  were  not  in 
the  country  above  two  thousand  regular  soldiers, 
and  these  were  Scottish  regiments,  whose  fidelity 
was  very  little  to  be  reckoned  upon,  if  there  should, 
as  was  probable,  be  a  general   insurrection  of  their 


THE    FRENCH    EXPEDITION.  33 


countrymen.  The  panic  in  London  was  great,  at 
court,  in  camp,  and  in  city  :  there  was  also  an  un- 
precedented run  on  the  Bank,  which,  unless  that 
great  national  institution  had  been  supported  by  an 
association  of  wealthy  British  and  foreign  mer- 
chants, must  have  given  a  severe  shock  to  public 
credit.  The  consternation  was  the  more  over- 
whelming, that  the  great  men  in  England  were 
jealous  of  each  other,  and,  not  believing  that  the 
Chevalier  would  have  ventured  over  upon  the  en- 
couragement of  the  Scottish  nation  only,  suspected 
the  existence  of  some  general  conspiracy,  the  ex- 
plosion of  which  would  t^ike  place  in  England. 

Amid  the  wide-spreading  alarm,  active  measures 
were  taken  to  avert  the  danger.  The  few  regi- 
ments which  were  in  South  Britain  were  directed 
to  march  for  Scotland  in  all  haste.  Advices  were 
senfto  Flanders,  to  recal  some  of  the  British  troops 
there  for  the  more  pressing  service  at  home.  Gen- 
eral Cadogan,  with  twelve  battalions,  took  shipping 
in  Holland,  and  actually  sailed  for  Tynemouth. 
But  even  amongst  these  there  were  troops  which 
could  not  be  trusted.  The  Earl  of  Orkney's  High- 
land regiment,  and  that  which  is  called  the  Scotch 
Fusileers,  are  said  to  have  declared  they  would 
never  use  their  swords  against  their  country  in  an 
English  quarrel.  It  must  be  added,  that  the  arri- 
val of  this  succour  was  remote  and  precarious.  But 
England  had  a  readier  and  more  certain  resource 
in  the  superiority  of  her  navy. 

With  the  most  active  exertions  a  fleet  of  forty 
sail  of  the  line  was  assembled  and  put  to  sea,  and, 
ere  the  French   squadron  commanded  by   Forbin 


34  FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  FLEETS  ARRIVED. 


had  sailed,  they  beheld  this  mightv  fleet  before 
Dunkirk,  on  the  28th  of  February,"  1708.  The 
Comte  de  Forbin,  upon  this  formidable  apparition, 
dispatched  letters  to  Paris  for  instructions,  having 
no  doubt  of  receiving  orders,  in  consequence,  to 
disembark  the  troops,  and  postpone  the  expedition. 
Such  an  answer  arrived  accordingly  ;  but  while 
Forbin  was  preparing,  on  the  14tli  of  March,  to 
carry  it  into  execution,  the  English  fleet  was  driven 
off  the  blockade  by  stress  of  weather ;  which  news 
having  soon  reached  the  court,  positive  orders  came, 
that  at  all  risks  the  invading  squadron  should  pro- 
ceed to  sea. 

They  sailed  accordingly  on  the  17th  March  from 
the  road  of  Dunkirk  ;  and  now  not  a  little  depended 
on  the  accidental  circumstance  of  wind  and  tide,  as 
these  should  be  favourable  to  the  French  or  English 
fleets.  The  elements  were  adverse  to  the  French. 
They  had  no  sooner  left  Dunkirk  road  than  the  wind 
became  contrary,  and  the  squadron  was  driven  into 
the  roadstead  called  Newport-pits,  from  which  place 
they  could  not  stir  for  the  space  of  two  days,  when, 
the  wind  again  changing,  they  set  sail  for  Scotland 
with  a  favourable  breeze.  The  Comte  de  Forbin 
and  his  squadron  arrived  in  the  entrance  of  the  Frith 
of  Forth,  sailed  as  high  up  as  the  point  of  Crail,  on 
the  coast  of  Fife,  and  dropped  anchor  there,  with 
the  purpose  of  running  up  the  Frith  as  far  as  the 
vicinity  of  Edinburgh  on  the  next  day,  and  there 
disembarking  the  Chevalier  de  St.  George,  Mare- 
chal  Matignon,  and  his  troops.  In  the  meantime, 
they  showed  signals,  fired  guns,  and  endeavoured 
to  call  the  attention  of  their  friends,  whom  they 
expected  to  welcome  them  ashore. 


ESCAPE    OF    THE    FRENCH    FLEET.  35 


None  of  these  signals  were  returned  from  the 
land ;  but  they  were  answered  from  the  sea  in  a 
manner  as  unexpected  as  it  was  unpleasing.  The 
report  of  five  cannon,  heard  in  the  direction  of  the 
mouth  of  the  Frith,  gave  notice  of  the  approach  of 
Sir  John  Byng  and  the  English  fleet,  which  had 
sailed  the  instant  their  admiral  learned'  that  the 
Comte  de  Forbin  had  put  to  sea ;  and  though  the 
French  had  considerably  the  start  of  them,  the 
British  admiral  contrived  to  enter  the  Frith  imme- 
diately after  the  French  squadron. 

The  dawn  of  morning  showed  the  far  superior 
force  of  the  English  fleet  advancing  up  the  Frith, 
and  threatening  to  intercept  the  French  squadron  in 
the  narrow  inlet  of  the  sea  into  which  they  had  ven- 
tured. The  Chevalier  de  St  George  and  his  at- 
tendants demanded  to  be  put  on  board  a  smaller  ves- 
sel than  that  commanded  by  Mons.  de  Forbin,  with 
the  purpose  of  disembarking  at  the  ancient  castle  of 
Wemyss,  on  the  Fife  coast,  belonging  to  the  earl  of 
the  same  name,  a  constant  adherent  of  the  Stewart 
family.  This  was  at  once  the  wisest  and  most  man- 
ly course  which  he  could  have  followed.  But  the 
son  of  James  II.  was  doomed  to  learn,  how  little 
freewill  can  be  exercised  by  the  prince  who  has 
placed  himself  under  the  protection  of  a  powerful 
auxiliary.  Mons.  de  Forbin,  after  evading  his  re- 
quest for  some  time,  at  length  decidedly  said  to 
him, — "  Sire,  by  the  orders  of  my  royal  master,  I 
am  directed  to  take  the  same  precautions  for  the 
safety  of  your  august  person  as  for  his  Majesty's 
own.  This  must  be  my  chief  care.  You  are  at 
present  in  safety,  and  I  will  never  consent  to  your 


36  ESCAPE    OF    THE    FRENCH    FLEET. 

being  exposed  in  a  ruinous  chateau,  in  an  open 
country,  where  a  few  hours  might  put  you  in  the 
hands  of  your  enemies.  I  am  intrusted  with  your 
person ;  I  am  answerable  for  your  safety  with  my 
head  ;  I  beseech  you,  therefore,  to  repose  your  con- 
fidence in  me  entirely,  and  to  listen  to  no  one  else. 
All  those  who  dare  give  you  advice  different  from 
mine,  are  either  traitors  or  cowards."  Having 
thus  settled  the  Chevalier's  doubts  in  a  manner  sa- 
vouring something  of  the  roughness  of  his  profes- 
sion, the  Comte  de  Forbin  bore  down  on  the  En- 
glish admiral,  as  if  determined  to  fight  his  way 
through  the  fleet.  But  as  Sir  George  Byng  made 
signal  for  collecting  his  ships  to  meet  the  enemy,  the 
Frenchman  went  off  on  another  tack,  and,  taking 
advantage  of  the  manceu-VTe  to  avoid  the  English 
admiral,  steered  for  the  mouth  of  the  Frith.  The 
English  ships  having  been  long  at  sea,  were  rather 
heavy  sailers,  while  those  of  Forbin  had  been  care- 
fully selected  and  careen'd  for  this  particular  ser- 
vice. The  pursuit  of  Byng  was  therefore  in  vain, 
excepting  that  the  Elizabeth,  a  slow-sailing  vessel 
of  the  French  fleet,  fell  into  his  hands. 

Admiral  Byng,  when  the  French  escaped  him, 
proceeded  to  Edinburgh  to  assist  in  the  defence  of 
the  capital,  in  case  of  any  movement  of  the  Jaco- 
bites which  might  have  endangered  it.  The  Comte 
de  Forbin,  with  his  expedition,  had,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  power  of  choosing  among  all  the  ports  on 
the  north-east  coast  of  Scotland,  from  Dundee  to 
Inverness,  the  one  which  circumstances  might  ren- 
der most  eligible  for  the  purpose  of  disembarking 
the  Chevalier  de  St  George  and  the  French  troops. 


ESCAPE    OF    THE    FRENCH    FLEET.  ST 


But  whether  from  his  own  want  of  cordiality  in  the 
object  of  the  expedition,  or  whether,  as  was  gener- 
ally suspected  by  the  Scottish  Jacobites  at  the  time, 
he  had  secret  orders  from  his  court  which  regulated 
his  conduct,  Forbin  positively  refused  to  put  the 
disinherited  Prince,  and  the  soldiers  destined  for  his 
service,  on  shore  at  any  part  of  the  north  of  Scot- 
land, although  the  Chevalier  repeatedly  required 
him  to  do  so.  The  expedition  returned  to  Dunkirk, 
from  which  it  had  been  three  weeks  absent;  the 
troops  were  put  ashore  and  distributed  in  garrison, 
and  the  commanders  hastened  to  court,  each  to  ex- 
cuse himself,  and  throw  the  blame  of  the  failure 
upon  the  other. . 

On  the  miscarriage  of  this  intended  invasion,  the 
malcontents  of  Scotland  felt  that  an  opportunity 
vv^as  lost,  which  never  might,  and  in  fact  never  did, 
again  present  itself.  The  unanimity  with  which 
almost  all  the  numerous  sects  and  parties  in  Scot- 
land were  disposed  to  unite  in  any  measure  which 
oould  rid  them  of  the  Union,  was  unusual,  that  it 
could  not  be  expected  to  be  of  long  duration  in  so 
factious  a  nation.  Neither  was  it  likely  that  the  king- 
dom of  Scotland  would  after  such  a  lesson,  he 
again  left  by  the  English  government  so  ill  provi- 
ded for  defence.  Above  all,  it  seemed  probable 
ihat  tlie  vengeance  of  the  ministry  would  descend 
so  heavily  on  the  heads  of  those  who  had  been  fore- 
most in  expressing  their  good  wishes  to  the  cause 
of  the  Chevalier  de  St  George,  as  might  induce 
others  to  bev.  are  of  following  their  example  on  fu- 
liire  occasions. 

During  tiie  brief  period  when  the  French  fleet 

VOL.  1.  4 


38  RISING    OF    THE    JACOBITES. 


was  known  to  be  at  sea,  and  the  landing  of  the  ar- 
my on  some  part  of  the  coast  of  Scotland  was  ex- 
pected almost  hourly,  the  depression  of  the  few  who 
adhered  to  the  existing  government  was  extreme. 
The  Earl  of  Leven,  commander-in-chief  of  the 
Scottish  forces,  hurried  down  from  England  to  take 
the  command  of  two  or  three  regiments,  which  were 
all  that  could  be  mustered  for  the  defence  of  the 
capital,  and,  on  his  arrival,  wrote  to  the  Secretary 
of  State  that  the  Jacobites  were  in  such  numbers, 
and  showed  themselves  so  elated,  that  he  scarce 
dared  look  them  in  the  face  as  he  walked  the  streets. 
On  the  approach  of  a  fleet,  the  Earl  drew  up  his 
army  in  hostile  array  on  Leith  sands,  as  if  he  meant 
to  withstand  any  attempt  to  land.  But  great  was 
his  relief,  when  the  approaching  vessels  of  war 
showed  the  flag  of  England,  instead  of  France,  and 
proved  to  be  those  of  Sir  George  B}'Tig,  instead  of 
the  Comte  de  Forbin's. 

When  this  important  intelligence  was  publicly 
known,  it  was  for  the  Jocobites  in  their  turn  to  abate 
the  haughty  looks  before  which  their  enemies  had 
quailed,  and  reassume  those  which  they  wore  as  a 
sufl'ering  but  submissive  faction.  The  Jacobite 
gentlemen  of  Stirlingshire,  in  particular,  had  almost 
gone  the  length  of  rising  in  arms,  to  speak  more 
properly,  they  had  actually  done  so,  though  no  op- 
portunity had  occurred  of  coming  to  blovrs.  They 
had  now,  therefore,  reason  to  expect  the  utmost 
vengeance  of  government. 

This  little  band  consisted  of  several  men  of 
wealth,  influence,  and  property.  Stirling  of  Keir, 
Seaton  of  Touch,  Edmondstoun  of  Newton,  Stir- 


CONDUCT  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  HAMILTON.        39 


ling  of  Garden,  and  others,  assembled  a  gallant  body 
of  horse,  and  advanced  towards  Edinburgh,  to  be 
the  first  who  should  ofter  themselves  for  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Chevalier  de  St  George.  Learning  by 
the  way  the  failure  of  the  expedition,  they  dispersed 
themselves,  and  returned  to  their  own  homes. 
They  were  seized,  however,  thrown  into  prison, 
and  threatened  to  be  tried  for  high  treason. 

The  Duke  of  Hamilton,  with  that  want  of  decis- 
ion which  gave  his  conduct  an  air  of  mysterious  in- 
consistency, had  left  his  seat  of  Kinniel  to  visit  his 
estates  in  Lancashire,  while  the  treaty  concerning 
the  French  invasion  was  in  dependence.  He  was 
overtaken  on  his  journey  by  a  friend,  who  came  to 
apprise  him,  that  all  obstiiictions  to  the  expedition 
being  overcome,  it  might  be  with  certainty  expected 
on  the  coast  in  the  middle  of  March.  The  Duke 
seemed  much  embarrassed,  and  declared  to  Lock- 
hart  of  Carnwath,  that  he  would  joyfully  return, 
were  it  not  that  he  foresaw  that  this  giving  such  a 
mark  of  the  interest  he  took  in  the  arrival  of  the 
Chevalier,  as  that  which  stopping  short  on  a  jour- 
ney, and  returning  to  Scotland  on  the  first  news 
that  he  was  expected,  must  necessarily  imply, 
would  certainly  determine  the  government  to  arrest 
him  on  suspicion.  But  his  Grace  pledged  himself, 
that  when  he  should  learn  by  express  that  the 
French  were  actually  arrived,  he  should  return  to 
Scotland  in  spite  of  all  opposition,  and  rendezvous 
at  Dumfries,  where  Mr  Lockhart  should  meet  him 
with  the  insurgents  of  Lanarkshire,  the  district  in 
which  both  their  interests  lay. 

The  Duke   had    scarcelv  arrived  at  his  house  of 


40  TRIAL    AND    ACQUITTAL    OF    THE 

Ashton,  in  Lancashire,  when  he  was  arrested  as  a 
suspicious  person,  and  was  still  in  the  custody  of  the 
messenger  when  he  received  the  intelligence  that 
the  French  armament  had  actually  set  sail.  Even 
this  he  did  not  conceive  a  fit  time  to  declare  himself, 
but  solemnly  protested,  that  so  soon  as  he  should 
learn  that  the  Chevalier  had  actually  landed,  he 
would  rid  himself  of  the  officer  in  whose  custody 
he  was,  and  set  off  for  Scotland  at  the  head  of  forty 
horse,  to  live  or  die  in  his  service.  As  the  Cheva- 
lier never  set  foot  ashore,  we  have  no  means  of 
knowing  whether  the  Duke  of  Hamilton  would  have 
fulfilled  his  promise,  which  Mr  Lockhart  seems  to 
have  considered  as  candidly  and  sincerely  given, 
or  have  had  recourse  to  some  evasion,  as  upon  oth- 
er critical  occasions. 

The  government,  as  is  usual  in  such  cases,  were 
strict  in  investigating  the  cause  of  the  conspiracy, 
and  menacing  those  who  had  encouraged  it,  in  a 
proportion  correspDnding  to  the  alarm  into  which 
they  had  been  thrown.  A  great  many  of  the  Scot- 
tish nobility  and  gentry  were  arrested  on  suspicion, 
secured  in  prisons  and  strong  fortresses  in  Scotland, 
or  sent  to  London  in  a  kind  of  triumph,  on  account 
of  the  encouragement  they  were  supposed  to  have 
given  to  the  invasion. 

The  Stirlingshire  gentlemen,  who  had  actually 
taken  arms  and  embodied  themselves,  were  mark- 
ed out  as  the  first  victims,  and  were  accordingly 
sent  back  to  Scotland,  to  be  tried  in  the  country 
where  they  had  committed  the  crime.  They  met 
more  favourable  judges  than  was  perhaps  to  have 
been  expected. 


STIRLINGSHIRE    JACOBITES.  41 

Being  brought  to  trial  before  the  High  Court  of 
Justiciary,  several  witnesses  were  examined,  who 
had  seea  the  gentlemen  assembled  together  in  a 
body,  but  no  one  had  remarked  any  circumstance 
which  gave  them  the  character  of  a  military  force. 
They  had  arms,  indeed,  but  few  gentlemen  of  that 
day  stirred  abroad  without  sword  and  pistol.  No 
one  had  heard  any  treasonable  conversation,  or 
avowal  of  a  treasonable  purpose.  The  jury,  there- 
fore, found  the  crime  was  Not  Proved  against  them 
— a  verdict  which,  by  the  Scottish  law,  is  equivalent 
in  its  effects  to  one  of  Not  Guilty,  but  which  is  ap- 
plied to  those  cases  in  which  the  accused  persons 
are  clouded  with  such  a  shade  of  suspicion  as  renders 
their  guilt  probable  in  the  eyes  of  the  jury,  though 
the  accuser  has  failed  to  make  it  good  by  proof. 
Their  trial  took  place  on  the  22d  November  1708. 

A  short  traditional  story  will  serve  to  explain  the 
cause  of  their  acquittal.  It  is  said,  the  Laird  of 
Keir  was  riding  joyfully  home,  with  his  butler  in  at?- 
tendance,  who  had  been  one  of  the  evidence  pro- 
duced against  him  on  the  trial,  but  who  had,  upon 
examination,  forgot  every  word  concerning  the  mat- 
ter which  could  possibly  prejudice  his  master. 
Keir  could  not  help  expressing  some  surprise  to  the 
man  at  the  extraordinary  shortness  of  memory  which 
he  had  shown  on  particular  questions  being  put  to 
him.  "I  understand  what  your  honour  means  very 
well,"  said  the  domestic  coolly,  "  but  my  mind  was 
made  up  rather  to  trust  my  own  soul  to  the  mercy 
of  Heaven  than  your  honour's  body  to  the  tender 
compassion  of  the  Whigs."  This  tale  carries  its 
own  commentary. 
4 


42       ACQUITTAL  OF  THE  JACOBITES. 


Having  failed  to  convict  conspirators  who  acted 
so  openly,  the  government  found  it  would  be  hope- 
less to  proceed  against  those  who  had  been  arrested 
on  suspicion  only.  This  body  included  many  no- 
blemen and  gentry  of  the  first  rank,  believed  to  en- 
tertain Jacobite  sentiments.  The  Duke  of  Gordon, 
the  Marquis  of  Huntly,  the  Earls  Seaforth,  Errol, 
Nithsdale,  Marischal,  and  Murray ;  Lords  Stormont, 
Kilsythe,  Drummond,  Nairne,  Belhaven,  and  Sin- 
clair, besides  many  gentlemen  of  fortune  and  influ- 
ence, were  all  confined  in  the  Tower,  or  other 
state  prisons.  The  Duke  of  Hamilton  is  supposed 
to  have  been  successful  in  making  interest  with 
the  Whigs  for  their  release,  his  Grace  proposing, 
in  return,  to  give  the  ministers  the  advantage  of  his 
interest,  and  that  of  his  friends,  upon  future  elec- 
tions. The  prisoners  were  accordingly  dismissed 
on  finding  bail. 

The  government,  however,  conceived  that  the 
failure  to  convict  the  Stirlingshire  gentlemen  accus- 
ed of  high  treason,  (of  which  they  were  certainly 
guilty,)  arose  less  from  the  reluctance  of  witnesses 
to  bear  testimony  against  them,  than  in  advantages 
afforded  to  them  by  the  uncertain  general  provi- 
sions of  the  Scottish  statutes  in  cases  of  treason. 
They  proposed  to  remedy  this  by  abrogating  the 
Scottish  law,  and  introducing  that  of  England  in  its 
stead,  and  ordaining  that  treasons  committed  in 
Scotland  should  be  tried  and  decided  in  what  i? 
technically  called  a  Commission  of  Oyer  and  Tcv- 
miner,  i.e.  a  Court  of  Commissioners  appointed  for 
hearing  and  deciding  a  particular  cause,  or  a  set  of 
reusep.     This,    it    must  he   r.otircd,  contained  an 


EXAMINATION    BY    TORTURES.  43 


important  advantage  to  the  government,  since  the 
case  was  taken  from  under  the  cognisance  of  the 
ordinary  courts  of  justice,  and  intrusted  to  commis- 
sioners named  for  the  special  occasion,  who  must, 
of  course,  be  chosen  from  men  friendly  to  govern- 
ment, awake  to  the  alarm  arising  from  any  attack 
upon  it,  and,  consequently,  likely  to  be  some  what 
prejudiced  against  the  parties  brought  before  them, 
as  accomplices  in  such  an  enterprise.  On  the  oth- 
er hand,  the  new  law,  with  the  precision  required 
by  the  English  system,  was  decided  and  distinct  in 
settling  certain  forms  of  procedure,  which  in  Scot- 
land, being  left  to  the  arbitrary  pleasure  of  the 
judges,  gave  them  an  opportunity  of  favouring  or 
distressing  the  parties  brought  before  them.  This 
was  a  dangerous  latitude  upon  political  trials,  where 
every  man,  whatever  might  be  his  rank,  or  general 
character  for  impartiality,  was  led  to  take  a  strong 
part  on  the  one  side  or  other  of  the  question  out  of 
which  the  criminal  interest  had  arisen. 

Another  part  of  the  proposed  act  was  however, 
a  noble  boon  to  Scotland.  It  freed  the  country 
forever  from  the  atrocious  powers  of  examination 
under  torture.  This,  as  we  have  seen,  was  currently 
practised  during  the  reigns  of  Charles  II.  and  his 
brother  James ;  and  it  had  been  put  in  force,  though 
unfrequently,  after  the  Revolution.  A  greater  in- 
justice cannot  be  imagined,  than  the  practice  of 
torture  to  extort  confession,  although  it  once  made 
a  part  of  judicial  procedure  in  every  country  of 
Europe,  and  is  still  resorted  to  in  some  conti- 
nental nations.  It  is  easy  to  conceive,  that  a  timid 
man,  or  one  oeculiarly  sensible  to  pain,  will  confess 


44  THE    PENALTIES    OF    HIGH    TREASON. 

crimes  of  which  he  is  innocent,  to  avoid  or  escape 
from  the  infliction  of  extreme  torture ;  while  a  vil- 
lain, of  a  hardy  disposition  of  mind  and  body,  will 
endure  the  worst  torment  that  can  be  imposed  on 
him,  rather  than  avow  offences  of  which  he  is  ac- 
tually guilty. 

The  laws  of  both  countries  conformed  but  too 
well  in  adding  to  the  punishment  of  high  treason 
certain  aggravations,  which,  while  they  must  disgust 
and  terrily  the  humane  and  civilized,  tend  only  to 
brutalize  the  vulgar  and  unthinking  part  of  the 
spectators,  and  to  familiarize  them  with  acts  of  cru- 
elty. On  this  the  laws  of  England  were  painfully 
minute.  They  enjoined  that  the  traitor  should  be 
cut  down  from  the  gibbet  before  life  and  sensibility 
to  pain  were  extinguished — that  while  half-stran- 
gled, his  heart  should  be  torn  from  his  breast,  and 
thrown  into  the  fire — his  body  opened  and  embow- 
elled,  and, — omitting  other  more  shamefully  savage 
injunctions, — that  his  corpse  should  be  quartered, 
and  exposed  upon  bridges  and  city  towers,  and 
abandoned  to  the  carrion  crow  and  the  eagle.  Ad- 
mitting that  high  treason,  as  it  implies  the  destruction 
of  the  government  under  which  we  live,  is  the  high- 
est of  all  possible  crimes,  still  the  forfeiture  of  Lfe, 
which  it  does,  and  ought  to  infer,  is  the  highest 
punishment  which  our  mortal  state  affords.  All  the 
butchery,  therefore,  which  the  former  laws  of  En- 
gland prescribed,  only  disgusts  or  hardens  the  heart 
of  the  spectator ;  while  the  apparatus  of  terror  sel- 
dom-aflects  the  criminal,  who  has  been  generally 
led  to  commit  the  crime  by  some  strong  enthusias- 
tic feeling,  either  implanted  in  him  by  education,  or 


COMMISSIONS    OP    OYER   AND    TERMINER.      45 

caught  up  from  sympathy  with  others ;  and  which 
as  it  leads  him  to  hazard  life  itself,  is  not  subdued 
or  daunted  by  the  additional  or  protracted  tortures, 
which  can  be  added  to  the  manner  in  which  death 
is  inflicted. 

Another  penalty  annexed  to  the  crime  of  high 
treason,  was  the  forfeiture  of  the  estates  of  the 
criminal  to  the  crown,  to  the  disinheriting  of  his 
children,  or  natural  heirs.  There  is  something  in 
this  difficult  to  reconcile  to  moral  feeling,  since  it 
may,  in  some  degree  be  termed  visiting  the  crimes 
of  the  parents  upon  the  children.  It  may  be  also 
alleged,  that  it  is  hard  to  forfeit  and  take  away  from 
the  lawful  line  of  succession  property  which  may 
have  been  acquired  by  the  talents  and  industry  of 
the  criminal's  forefathers,  or,  perhaps,  by  their  mer- 
itorious services  to  the  state.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  must  be  considered,  that  there  is  something 
not  unappropriate  in  the  punishment  of  reducing  to 
poverty  the  family  of  him,  who,  by  his  attack  on  the 
state,  might  have  wrought  the  ruin  of  thousands  of 
families.  Nor  is  it  less  to  be  admitted,  that  this 
branch  of  the  punishment  has  a  quality  always  de- 
sirable— namely,  a  strong  tendency  to  deter  men 
from  the  crime.  High  treason  ic  usually  the  of- 
fence of  men  of  rank  and  wealth  ;  at  least,  such, 
being  the  leaders  in  civil  war,  are  usually  selected 
for  punishment.  It  is  natural  that  such  persons, 
however  willingly  they  may  venture  their  own  per- 
sons, should  be  apt  to  hesitate  when  the  enterprise 
involves  all  the  fortunes  of  their  house,  name,  rank, 
and  other  advantages,  which  having  received  per- 
haps from  a   long  train   of  ancestors,   they  are  na- 


46       COMMISSIONS    OF    OYER    AND    TERMINER. 


turally  and  laudably  desirous  to  transmit  to  their 
posterity. 

The  proposal  for  extending  the  treason  law  of 
England  into  North  Britain,  was  introduced  under 
the  title  of  a  bill  for  further  completing  and  per- 
fecting the  Union.  Many  of  the  Scottish  members, 
alleged  on  the  contrary,  that  the  proposed  enact- 
ments were  rather  a  violation  of  the  national  treaty, 
since  the  bill  was  directly  calculated  to  encroach 
on  the  powers  of  the  Court  of  Justiciary,  which 
had  been  guaranteed  by  the  Union.  This  objection 
w  as  lessened  at  least  by  an  amendment  on  the  bill, 
which  declared  that  three  of  the  Judges  of  the  Jus- 
ticiary (so  the  Criminal  Court  of  Scotland  is  term- 
ed,) should  be  always  included  in  any  Commission 
of  Oyer  and  Terminer. — The  bill  passed  into  a 
statute,  and  has  been  ever  since  the  law  of  the  land. 

Thus  was  the  Union  completed.  We  shall  next 
endeavour  to  show,  in  the  phrase  of  mechanics,  how 
this  new  machine  worked ;  or,  in  other  words,  how 
this  great  alteration  on  the  internal  Constitution  of 
Great  Britain  answered  the  expectations  of  those 
bv  whom  the  changes  were  introduced. 


# 


[     47     ] 


CHAP.  III. 

Characters  of  the  Leading  Men  in  Scotland— the  Dukes  of  Hamil- 
ton and  Argyle,  and  the  Earl  of  Mar —  Reception  of  the  Scottish 
Members  in  Parliament— Differences  between  the  Scottish  Peers 
and  Commoners — Reconciliation  between  them  in  consequence 
of  the  Discussion  of  the  Question,  whether  Scottish  peers,  on  be- 
inj  created  Peers  of  Great  Britain,  had  a  ri^ht  to  sit  in  the 
House  of  Lords— Debate  on  the  Question,  whether  the  Malt 
Trtx  ou^lit  to  be  extended  to  Scotland — Motion  for  the  Abolition 
of  the  Union  — negatived  by  a  Majority  of  only  Four — Feiment 
occasioned  by  the  Publication  of  Swift's  Pamphlet  on  "The  Pub- 
lic Spirit  of  the  Whigs." 

In  order  to  give  you  a  distinct  idea  of  the  situa- 
tion in  which  Great  Britain  was  placed  at  this  event- 
ful period,  I  shall  first  sketch  the  character  of  three 
or  four  of  the  principal  persons  of  Scotland  whose 
influence  had  most  effect  in  producing  the  course 
of  events  which  followed.  I  shall  then  explain  the 
course  pursued  by  the  Scottish  representatives  in 
the  national  Parliament ;  and  these  preliminaries 
being  discussed,  I  shall  thirdly,  endeavour  to  trace 
the  general  measures  of  Britain  respecting  her  for- 
eign relations,  and  to  explain  the  effect  whicli  these 
produce  upon  the  public  tranquillity  of  the  United 
Kingdom. 

The  Duke  of  Hamilton  you  are  already  some- 
what acquainted  with,  as  a  distinguished  character 
during  the  last  Parliament  of  Scotlaid,  when  he 
headed  the  opposition  to  the  treaty  of  Union  ;  and 
also  during  the  plot  for  invading  Scotland  and  re- 


48  DUKE    OF    HAMILTON. 


storing  the  Stewart  family,  when  he  seems  to  have 
been  regarded  as  the  leader  of  the  Lowland  Jaco- 
bites, those  of  the  Highlands  rather  inclining  to  the 
Duke  of  Athole.  He  was  the  peer  of  the  highest 
rank  in  Scotland,  and  nearly  connected  with  the  roy- 
al family  ;  which  made  some  accuse  him  of  looking 
towards  the  crown,  a  folly  which  his  acknowledged 
good  sense  might  be  allowed  to  acquit  him.  He 
was  handsome  in  person,  courtly  and  amiable  in 
manners,  generally  popular  with  all  classes,  and  the 
natural  head  of  the  gentry  of  Lanarkshire  many  of 
whom  are  descended  from  his  own  family.  Through 
the  influence  of  his  mother,  the  Duchess,  he  had 
always  preserved  a  strong  interest  among  the  Hill- 
men,  or  Cameronians,  who  had  since  the  Revolu- 
tion shown  themselves  in  arms  more  than  once ; 
and,  in  case  of  a  civil  war  or  invasion,  must  have 
been  of  material  avail.  With  all  these  advantages 
of  birth,  character  and  influence,  the  Duke  of 
Hamilton  had  a  defect  which  prevented  his  attain- 
ing eminence  as  a  political  leader.  He  possessed 
personal  valour,  as  he  showed  in  his  last  and  tragic 
scene,  but  he  was  destitute  of  political  courage  and 
decision.  Dangers  which  he  had  braved  at  a 
distance,  appalled  him  when  they  approached  near  ; 
he  was  apt  to  disappoint  his  friends,  as  the  horse 
who  baulks  the  leap  to  which  he  has  come  gallantly 
up,  endangers,  or  perhaps  altogether  unseats,  his 
rider.  Even  with  this  defect,  Hamilton  was  belov- 
ed and  esteemed  by  Lockhart,  and  other  leaders  c*' 
the  Tory  party,  who  appear  rather  to  have  re 
gretted  his  unsteadiness  as  a  weakness,  than  con- 
demned it  as  a  fault. 


DUKE    OF    ARGYLE.  49 


The  next  Scottish  nobleman,  whose  talents  made 
him  pre-eminent  on  the  scene  during  this  eventful 
period,  was  John,  Duke  of  Argyle,  a  person  whose 
greatness  did  not  consist  in  the  accidents  of  rank, 
influence,  and  fortune,  though  possessed  of  all  these 
in  the  highest  order  which  his  country  permitted, 
since  his  talents  were  such  as  must  have  forced 
him  into  distinction  and  eminence,  in  what  humble 
state  soever  he  might  have  been  born.  This  great 
man  was  heir  of  the  ancient  house  of  Argyle,  which 
makes  so  distinguished  a  figure  in  Scottish  history, 
and  whose  name  occurs  so  often  in  the  former  vol- 
umes of  these  Tales.  The  Duke  of  whom  we  now 
speak  was  the  great-grandson  of  the  Marquis  of 
Argyle  who  was  beheaded  after  the  Restoration, 
and  grandson  of  the  earl  who  suffered  the  same 
fate  under  James  II.  The  family  had  been  reduced 
to  very  narrow  circumstances,  by  those  repeated 
acts  of  persecution. 

The  house  of  Argyle  was  indemnified  at  the 
Revolution,  when  the  father  of  Duke  John  was  re- 
stored to  his  paternal  property,  and  in  compensation 
for  the  injuries  and  injustice  sustained  by  his  father 
and  grandfather,  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  Duke. 
A  remarkable  circumstance  which  befel  Duke  John 
in  his  infancy,  would,  by  the  pangs,  have  been  sup- 
posed to  augur,  that  he  was  under  the  special  care 
of  Providence,  and  reserved  for  some  great  purpos- 
es. About  the  time  (tradition  says  on  the  very 
day,  30th  June,  1685,)  that  his  grandfather,  the 
Earl  Archibald,  was  about  to  be  executed,  the  heir 
of  the  family,  then  about  seven  years  old  fell  from  a 
window  of  the  ancient  tower  of  Lethington,  near 
VOL.  1.  5 


60  DUKE    OF    ARGYLE. 

Haddington,  the  residence  at  that  time  of  his  grand- 
mother, the  Duchess  of  Lauderdale.  The  height 
is  so  great,  that  the  child  escaping  unhurt,  might  be 
accounted  a  kind  of  miracle. 

Having  entered  early  on  a  military  life,  to  which 
his  family  had  been  long  partial,  he  distinguished 
himself  at  the  siege  of  Keyrsewat,  under  the  eye 
of  King  William.  Showing  a  rare  capacity  for  bu- 
siness, he  was  appointed  Lord  high  Commission- 
er to  the  Scottish  Parliament  in  1705,  on  which 
occasion  he  managed  so  well,  as  to  set  on  foot  the 
treaty  of  Union,  by  carrying  through  the  Act  for 
the  appointment  of  Commissioners,  to  adjust  that 
great  national  measure.  The  Duke,  therefore, 
laid  the  first  stone  of  an  edifice,  which,  though  car- 
ried on  upon  an  erroneous  and  narrow^  system,  was, 
nevertheless  ultimately  calculated  to  be,  and  did  in 
fact  prove,  the  basis  of  universal  prosperity  to  the 
United  Kingdoms.  In  the  last  Scottish  Parlia- 
ment, his  powerful  eloquence  w^as  a  principal  means 
of  supporting  that  great  treaty.  Argyle's  name 
does  not  appear  in  any  list  of  the  sharers  of  the 
equivalent  money ;  and  his  countrymen,  amid  the 
unpopularity  which  attached  to  the  measure,  distin- 
guished him  as  having  favoured  it  from  real  princi- 
ple. Indeed,  it  is  an  honourable  part  of  this  great 
man's  character,  that,  though  bent  on  the  restoration 
of  the  fortunes  of  his  family,  sorely  abridged  by  the 
mischances  of  his  grandfather  and  great  grandfather, 
and  by  the  extravagances  of  his  father,  he  had  too 
much  sense  and  too  much  honour  ever  to  stoop  to 
any  indirect  mode  of  gaining  personal  advantage, 
and  was  able,  in  a  venal  age,  to  set  all  imputations 


DUKE    OF    ARGYLE.  51 

of  corruption  at  defiance  ;  whereas  the  statesman 
who  is  once  detected  bartering  his  opinions  for 
lucre,  is  like  a  woman  who  has  lost  her  reputation, 
and  can  never  afterwards  regain  the  public  trust  and 
ffood  opinion  which  he  has  forfeited.  Argyle  was 
rewarded,  however,  by  being  created  an  English 
Peer,  by  the  title  of  Earl  of  Greenwich,  and  Baron 
Chatham. 

Argyle,  after  the  Union  was  carried,  returned  to 
the  army,  and  served  under  Marlborough  with  dis- 
tinguished reputation,  of  which  it  was  thought  that 
great  general  even  condescended  to  be  jealous.  At 
least  it  is  certain  that  there  was  no  cordiality  be- 
tween them,  it  being  understood  that  when  there 
was  a  rumour  that  the  Whig  administration  of  Go- 
dolphin  would  make  a  push  to  have  the  Duke  creat- 
ed general  for  life,  in  spite  of  the  Queen's  pleasure 
to  the  contrary,  Argyle  offered,  if  such  an  attempt 
should  be  made,  to  make  Marlborough  prisoner 
even  in  the  midst  of  the  victorious  army  which  he 
commanded.  At  this  time,  therefore,  he  was  a 
steady  and  zealous  friend  of  Harley  and  Boling- 
broke,  who  were  then  beginning  their  Tory  admin- 
istration. To  recompense  his  valuable  support,  he 
was  named  by  the  Tory  ministry  commander-in- 
chief  in  Spain,  and  assured  of  all  the  supplies  in 
troops  and  money  which  might  enable  him  to  carry 
on  the  war  with  success  in  that  kingdom, where  the 
Tories  had  all  along  insisted  it  should  be  maintain- 
ed. With  this  pledge,  Argyle  accepted  the  appoint- 
ment, in  the  ambitious  hope  of  acquiring  that  mili- 
tary renown  which  he  principally  coveted. 

But  the  Duke's    mortification    was  extreme  iu 


62  DUKE    OF    ARGYLE. 

finding,  on  his  arrival  in  Spain,  the  British  army  in 
a  state  too  wretched  to  undertake  any  enterpise  of 
moment,  and  indeed  unfit  even  to  defend  its  posi- 
tions. The  British  ministers  broke  the  word  they 
had  pledged  for  his  support,  and  sent  him  neither 
money,  supplies  nor  reinforcements;  so  that  in- 
stead of  rivalling  Marlborough,as  had  been  his  ambi- 
tion, in  conquering  territories  and  gaining  battles, 
Argyle  saw  himself  reduced  to  the  melancholy  ne- 
cessity of  retiring  to  JNIinorca  to  save  the  wreck  of 
the  army.  The  reason  given  by  the  ministers  for 
this  breach  of  faith  was,  that  having  determined  on 
that  accommodation  with  France  which  was  after- 
wards termed  the  peace  of  Utrecht,  they  did  not  de- 
sire to  prosecute  the  war  with  vigour  either  in  Spain 
or  any  other  OjUarter.  Argyle  fell  sick  with  morti- 
fied pride  and  resentment.  He  struggled  for  life 
in  a  violent  fever,  and  returned  to  Britain  with  vin- 
dictive intentions  towards  the  ministers,  who  had, 
he  thought,  disappointed  him,  by  their  breach  of 
promise,  of  an  ample  harvest  of  glory. 

On  his  return  to  England,  the  ministers,  Harley, 
now  Earl  of  Oxford,  and  the  Lord  Bolingbroke,  en- 
deavoured to  soothe  the  Duke's  resentment  by  ap- 
pointing him  commander-in-chief  in  Scotland,  and 
governor  of  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh  ;  but  notwith- 
standing, he  remained  a  bitter  and  dangerous  op- 
ponent of  their  administration,  formidable  by  his 
high  talents,  both  civil  and  military-,  his  ready  elo- 
quence, and  the  fearless  energy  with  which  he  spoke 
and  acted.  Such  was  the  distinguished  John  Duke 
of  Argyle,  whom  we  shall  often  have  to  mention  in 
these  pages. 


EARL    OF    MAR.  53 


John,  eleventh,  Earl  of  Mar,  of  the  name  of  Ers- 
kine,  was  also  a  remarkable  person  at  this  period. 
He  was  a  man  of  quick  parts  and  prompt  eloquence, 
an  adept  in  state  intrigues,  and  a  successful  cour- 
tier. His  paternal  estate  had  been  greatly  embar- 
rassed by  the  mismanagement  of  his  father,  but  in 
a  great  measure  redeemed  by  his  own  prudent  econ- 
omy. He  obtained  the  command  of  a  regiment  of 
foot,  but  though  we  are  about  to  see  him  at  the  head 
of  an  army,  it  does  not  appear  that  Mar  had  given 
his  mind  to  military  affairs,  or  acquired  experience 
by  going  on  actual  service.  His  father  had  been  a 
Whig,  and  professed  Revolution  principles,  and  the 
present  Earl  entered  life  bearing  the  same  colours. 
He  brought  forward  in  the  Parliament  of  Scotland 
the  proposal  for  the  treaty  of  Union,  and  was  one  of 
the  Scottish  commissioners  for  settling  the  prelimi- 
nary articles.  Being  secretary  of  state  for  Scotland 
during  the  last  Scottish  Parliament,  he  supported 
the  treaty  both  with  eloquence  and  address.  Mar 
does  not  appear  amongst  those  who  received  any 
portion  of  the  equivalents ;  but  as  he  lost  his  secre- 
taryship by  the  Union,  he  was  created  keeper  of 
the  signet,  with  a  pension,  and  was  admitted  into 
the  English  Privy  Council.  Upon  the  celebrated 
change  of  the  administration  in  1710,  the  Earl  of 
Mar,  then  one  of  the  fifteen  peers  who  represented 
the  nobility  of  Scotland,  passed  over  to  the  new 
ministers,  and  was  created  one  of  the  British  sec- 
retaries of  state.  In  this  capacity  he  was  much 
€mployed  in  the  affairs  of  Scotland,  and  in  man- 
aging such  matters  as  they  had  to  do  in  the  High- 
lands. His  large  estate  upon  the  river  Dee  in 
5 


54  RECEPTION    OF    THE    SCOTTISH 

Aberdeenshire,  called  the  forest  of  Braemar,  placed 
him  at  the  head  of  a  considerableHighland  following 
of  his  own,  which  rendered  it  more  easy  for  him, 
as  dispenser  of  the  bounties  of  government,  to 
establish  an  interest  among  the  chiefs,  which  ulti- 
mately had  fatal  consequences  to  them  and  to  him- 
self. 

Such  were  the  three  principal  Scottish  nobles  on 
whom  the  affairs  of  Scotland,  at  that  uncertain  pe- 
riod, very  much  depended.  We  are  next  to  give 
some  account  of  the  manner  in  wiiich  the  forty- 
five  members,  whom  the  Union  had  settled  to  be 
the  proportion  indulged  to  Scotland  as  her  share  of 
the  legislature,  were  received  in  the  English  sen- 
ate. 

And  here  it  must  be  noticed,  that  although  indi- 
vidually the  Scottish  members  w^ere  cordially  re- 
ceived in  London,  and  in  society  saw  or  felt  no  pre- 
judice whatever  existing  against  them  on  account 
of  their  birth-place,  and  though  there  was  no  dis- 
like exhibited  against  them  individually,  yet  they 
were  soon  made  sensible  that  their  presence  in  the 
senate  was  unacceptable  to  the  English  members, 
as  the  arrival  of  a  body  of  strange  rams  in  a  pasture, 
where  a  flock  of  the  same  animals  have  been  feed- 
ing for  some  time.  The  contentions  between  those 
Avho  are  in  possession  and  the  new  comers,  are  in 
that  case  carried  to  a  great  height,  and  occasion 
much  noise  and  many  encounters  ;  and  for  a  long 
time  the  smaller  band  of  strangers  are  observed  to 
herd  together,  and  to  avoid  intermingling  with  the 
original  possessors,  nor,  if  they  attempt  to  do  so, 
are  thev  cordially  received. 


MEMBERS    IN    PARLIAMENT.  55 


This  same  species  of  discord  was  visible  between 
the  great  body  of  the  English  House  of  Commons 
and  the  handful  of  Scottish  members  introduced 
among  them  by  the  Union.  It  was  so  much  the  case, 
hat  the  national  prejudices  of  English  and  Scots 
pitted  against  each  other,  even  interfered  witn  and 
overcame  the  political  differences,  by  which  the 
conduct  and  votes  of  the  representatives  of  both  na- 
tions would  have  been  otherwise  regulated.  The 
Scottish  members,  for  example,  found  themselves 
neglected,  thwarted,  and  overborne  by  numbers,  on 
many  occasions  where  they  conceived  the  immedi- 
ate interests  of  their  country  were  concerned,  and 
where  they  thought  that,  in  courtesy  and  common 
fairness,  they,  as  the  peculiar  representatives  of 
Scotland,  ought  to  have  been  allowed  something 
more  than  their  small  proportion  of  five-and-forty 
votes.  The  opinion  even  of  a  single  member  of 
parliament  is  listened  to  with  some  deference,  when 
the  matter  discussed  intimately  concerns  the  shire  or 
burgh  which  he  represents,  because  he  obtains  credit 
for  having  made  himself  more  master  of  the  case 
than  others  who  are  less  interested.  And  it  was 
surely  natural  for  the  Scots  to  claim  similar  defer- 
ence when  speaking  in  behalf  of  a  whole  kingdom, 
whose  wants  and  whose  advantages  could  be 
known  to  none  in  the  house  so  thoroughly  as  to 
themselves.  But  they  were  far  from  experiencing 
the  courtesy  which  they  expected.  It  was  ex- 
pressly refused  to  them  in  the  following  instances. 

1.  The  alteration  of  the  law  of  high  treason, 
already  mentioned,  was  a  subject  of  discord.  The 
Scottish   Miembers  were   sufficiently  desirous  that 


56  RECEPTION    OF    THE    SCOTTISH 

their  law,  in  this  particular,  should  be  modelled 
anew,  by  selecting  the  best  parts  of  the  system  of 
both  countries,  and  this  would  certainly*  have  been 
the  most  equitable  course.  But  the  English  law, 
in  this  particular,  was  imposed  on  Scotland  with 
little  exception  or  modification. 

2.  Another  struggle  for  national  advantage  oc- 
curred respecting  the  drawbacks  of  duty  allowed 
upon  fish  cured  in  Scotland.  This  advantage  the 
Scottish  merchants  had  a  right  to  by  the  letter  of 
the  treaty,  which  expressly  declared,  that  there 
should  be  a  free  communication  of  trade  and  com- 
mercial privileges  between  the  kingdoms,  so  that 
the  Scottish  as  well  as  the  English  merchant  was 
entitled  to  these  drawbacks.  To  this  the  English 
answered,  that  the  salt  with  which  the  Scottish  fish 
were  cured  before  the  Union,  had  not  paid  the  high 
English  duty,  and  that  to  grant  drawbacks  upon 
goods  so  prepared,  would  be  to  return  to  the  Scot- 
tish trader  sums  which  he  had  never  advanced. 
There  was  some  reason,  no  doubt,  in  the  objection  ; 
but  in  so  great  a  transaction  as  the  Union  of  two 
kingdoms,  there  must  have  occurred  circumstances 
which,  for  one  cause  or  another  must  necessarily 
create  an  advantage  to  individuals  of  the  one  coun- 
try or  the  other;  and  it  seemed  ungracious  in  the 
wealthy  kingdom  of  England  to  grudge  to  the 
poorer  people  of  Scotland  so  trifling  a  benefit  at- 
tendant on  so  important  a  measure.  The  English 
Parliament  did  accordingly  at  last  agree  to  this 
drawback ;  but  the  action  lost  its  grace  from  the 
obvious  unwillingness  with  which  the  advantage 
was  conceded,  and,  as  frequently  happens,  the  giv- 


MEMBERS    IN    PARLIAMENT.  57 


ing  up  the  point  in  question  did  not  consign  to  ob- 
livion the  acrimony  of  the  discussions  which  it  had 
occasioned.  The  debates  on  the  several  questions 
we  have  just  noticed,  all  occurred  in  sessions  of 
the  British  Parliament  during  which  the  Union  was 
completed. 

In  1710,  Queen  Anne,  becoming  weary  of  her 
Whig  ministers,  as  1  will  tell  you  more  at  length, 
took  an  opportunity  to  dismiss  them,  upon  finding 
the  voice  of  the  country  unfavourable  to  them,  in 
the  foolish  affair  of  Sacheverel ;  and,  as  is  the 
usual  course  in  such  cases  she  dissolved  the  Par- 
liament in  which  the  administration  had  a  majority, 
and  assembled  a  new  one. 

The  Tory  ministry,  like  all  ministers  entering  on 
office,  endeavoured,  by  civility  or  promises,  to  gain 
the  support  of  every  description  of  men  ;  and  the 
Scottish  members,  who  after  all,  made  up  forty-five 
votes,  were  not  altogether  neglected.  The  new 
ministry  boasted  to  the  representatives  of  North 
Britain,  that  the  present  Parliament  consisted  chief- 
ly of  independent  country  gentlemen  who  would 
do  impartial  justice  to  all  parts  of  Britain,  and  that 
Scotland  should  have  nothing  to  complain  of. 

An  opportunity  speedily  occured  of  proving  the 
sincerity  of  these  promises.  It  must  first  be  re- 
marked, that  the  opposition  made  to  the  measures 
of  Government  had  hitherto  been  almost  entirely  on 
the  side  of  the  Scottish  members  in  the  Lower 
House,  who  had  pursued  the  policy  of  threatening 
to  leave  the  administration  in  a  minority  in  try- 
ing questions,  by  passing  in  a  body  to  the  opposi- 
tion ;  a   line   of  political    tactics    which    will    al- 


58         SCOTTISH    MEMBERS    IN    PARLIAMENT. 

ways  give  to  a  small  but  united  band  a  certain 
weight  in  the  House  of  Commons,  where  nicely 
balanced  questions  frequently  occur,  and  forty-five 
votes  may  turn  the  scale  one  way  or  other.  By 
this  policy  the  Scottish  commoners  had  sometimes 
produced  a  favourable  issue  on  points  in  which  their 
country  was  concerned.  But  such  was  not  the 
practice  of  the  representatives  of  the  peerage,  who, 
having  some  of  them  high  rank,  with  but  small  for- 
tunes to  sustain  it,  were  for  a  time  tolerably  tracta- 
ble, voting  regularly  along  with  the  ministers  in 
power.  A  question,  however,  arose  of  which  we 
shall  speak  presently,  concerning  the  privileges  of 
their  own  order,  which  disturbed  this  interested 
and  self-seeking  course  of  policy. 

Another  reason  for  the  lukewarmness  of  the 
Scottish  Peers  was,  that  the  commoners  of  Scot- 
land had  been  active  on  two  occasions,  in  which 
they  had  interposed  barriers  against  the  exorbitant 
power  of  the  aristocracy.  The  first  was,  an  enact- 
ment passed  rendering  the  eldest  sons  of  Scottish 
peers  incapable  of  sitting  as  members  in  the  House 
of  Commons.  This  incapacity  was  imposed,  be- 
cause, being  of  the  same  rank  or  status  as  the  no- 
bility, it  was  considered  that  the  eldest  sons  of  the 
nobles  were,  like  their  fathers,  virtually  represented 
by  the  sixteen  Scottish  Peers  sent  to  the  Upper 
House.  The  second  regulation  displeasing  to  the 
Peerage  was  that  which  rendered  illegal  the  votes  of 
Ruch  electors  in  Scotland,  as,  not  being  possessed 
in  their  own  right  of  the  qualification  necessary  by 
law,  had  obtained  a  temporary  conveyance  of  a  free- 
bold  qualification   of  the  necessary  amount,  which 


SCOTTISH    PEERS    AND    COMMONERS.  59 


tliey  bound  themselves  to  restore  to  the  person,  by 
whom  it  was  lent,  for  the  purpose  of  voting  at  elec- 
tions. The  effect  of  this  law  was  to  destroy  an  in- 
direct mode  by  which  the  peers  had  attempted  to 
interfere  in  the  election  of  the  commoners.  For 
before  this  provision,  although  a  peer  could  not 
himself  appear  or  vote  for  the  election  of  a  com- 
moner, he  might,  by  cutting  his  crown-holding  into 
qualifications  of  the  necessary  amount,  and  distri- 
buting them  among  confidential  persons,  place  so 
many  fictitious  voters  on  the  roll,  as  might  out-vote 
those  real  proprietors,  in  whom  the  constitution 
vested  the  right  of  election.  These  two  laws  show 
that  the  Scottish  members  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons were  alive  to  the  value  of  their  constitutional 
rights,  and  the  danger  to  their  freedom  from  the  in- 
terference of  the  peers  in  elections  to  the  Lower 
House.  These  differences  occasioned  some  cold- 
ness between  the  Sixteen  Peers  and  the  Scottish 
Members  of  Parliament,  and  prevented  for  a  time  a 
co-operation  between  them  in  cases  where  the  in- 
terests of  their  common  country  seemed  to  require 
it.  The  following  incident,  to  which  I  have  al- 
ready alluded,  put  an  end  to  this  coldness. 

Queen  Anne,  in  the  course  of  her  administration, 
had  begun  to  withdraw  her  favours  from  the  Whigs 
and  confer  them  upon  the  Tories,  even  upon  such 
as  were  supposed  to  have  embraced  the  Jacobite  in- 
terest. Among  these,  the  Duke  of  Hamilton  being 
conspicuous,  he  was,  in  addition  to  his  other  titles, 
created  a  peer  of  Great  Britain,  by  the  title  of  the 
Duke  of  Brandon.  A  similar  exertion  of  the 
Queen's  prerogative  had  already  been  made  in  the 


60  RECONCILIATION?    OF    THE 

case  of  the  Duke  of  Queensberry,  who  had  been 
called  to  the  British  peerage,  by  the  title  of  Duke  of 
Dover.  But  iiotAvithstauding  this  precedent,  there 
was  violent  opposition  to  the  Duke  of  Hamilton 
taking  his  seat  as  a  British  peer.  It  was  said  no 
Scottish  noble  could  sit  in  that  House  by  any  other 
title  than  as  one  of  the  sixteen  Peers,  to^\hich  num- 
ber the  peerage  of  that  kingdom  had  been  restricted 
as  an  adequate  representation ;  and  the  opposition 
pretended  to  see  great  danger  in  opening  any  other 
way  to  their  getting  into  the  Upper  House,  even 
through  the  grant  of  the  Sovereign,  than  the  election 
of  their  own  number.  The  fallacy  of  this  reason- 
ing is  obvious,  seeing  it  was  allowed  on  all  hands 
that  the  Queen  could  have  made  any  Scotsman  a 
British  peer,  providing  he  was  not  a  peer  in  his  own 
country.  Thus  the  Scottish  peerage  were  likely 
to  be  placed  in  a  very  awkward  situation.  They 
were  peers  already,  as  far  as  the  question  of  all 
personal  privileges  went ;  but  because  they  were 
such,  it  was  argued  that  they  were  not  capable  of 
holding  the  additional  privilege  of  sitting  as  legisla- 
tors, which  it  was  admitted  the  Queen  could  con- 
fer, with  all  other  immunities,  upon  any  Scottish 
commoner.  Their  case  was  that  of  the  bat  in  the 
fable,  who  was  rejected  both  by  birds  and  mice, 
because  she  had  some  alliance  with  each  of  them. 
A  Scottish  peer,  not  being  one  of  the  elected  fif- 
teen, could  not  be  a  legislator  in  his  own  country, 
for  the  Scottish  Parliament  was  abolished  ;  and  ac- 
cording to  this  doctrine,  he  had  become,  for  no  rea- 
son that  can  be  conjectured,  incapable  of  being 
called  to  the  British  House  of  Peers,  to  which  the 


f 


SCOTTISH    PEERS    AND    COMMONERS.  61 


King  could  summon  by  his  will  any  one  save  him- 
self and  his  co-peers  of  Scotland.  Nevertheless, 
the  House  of  Peers,  after  a  long  debate,  ajid  by  a 
narrow  majority,  decided,  that  no  Scottish  peer  be- 
ing created  a  peer  of  Great  Britain  since  the  Union, 
had  a  right  to  sit  in  that  house.  The  Scottish 
peers,  highly  offended  at  the  decision,  drew  up  a 
remonstrance  to  the  Queen,  in  which  they  com- 
plained of  it  as  an  infringement  of  the  Union,  and  a 
mark  of  disgrace  put  upon  the  whole  peerage  of 
Scotland.  The  resolution  of  the  House  of  Peers 
was  afterwards  altered,  and  many  of  the  Scottish 
nobility  have,  at  various  periods,  been  created 
peers  of  Great  Britain. 

But  during  the  time  while  it  remained  binding,  it 
produced  a  considerable  change  in  the  temper  of 
the  Scottish  peers,  and  brought  them  to  form  a  clo- 
ser union  among  themselves  and  with  the  commons. 
Influenced  by  tliese  feelings  of  resentment,  and  by 
the  energy  of  the  Duke  of  Argyle,  they  bestirred 
themselves  to  resist  the  extension  of  the  malt  tax 
to  Scotland. 

This  tax  which  the  Scots  dreaded  peculiarly,  be- 
cause it  imposed  upon  their  malt  a  duty  equal  to 
that  levied  in  England,  had  been  specially  canvas- 
sed in  the  course  of  the  treaty  of  Union  ;  and  it 
had  finally  been  agreed  that  Scotland  should  not 
pay  the  tax  during  the  continuance  of  the  war.  In 
point  of  strict  right,  the  Scots  had  little  to  say,  ex- 
cepting that  the  peace  with  Spain  was  not  yet  pro- 
claimed, which  might  have  enabled  them  to  claim 
a  delay,  but  not  an  exemption  from  the  impo- 
sition. In  point  of  equity,  there  was  more  to  be 
vol..  1.  6 


62      DEBATE  ON  THE  EXTENSION  OF 


pleaded.  The  barley  grown  in  Scotland,  being 
raised  on  an  inferior  soil,  is  not,  at  least  was  not  at 
the  time  of  the  Union,  worth  more  than  one-third 
or  one-half  of  the  intrinsic  value  of  that  raised  on 
the  fertile  soil,  and  under  the  fine  climate,  of  Eng- 
land. If,  therefore,  the  same  duty  was  to  be  laid 
on  the  same  quantity  as  in  South  Britain,  the 
poorer  country  would  be  taxed  in  a  double  or 
triple  proportion  to  that  which  was  better  able  to 
bear  the  burden.  Two  Scottish  peers,  the  Duke 
of  Argyle,  and  the  Earl  of  Mar,  and  two  common- 
ers, Cockburn,  younger  of  Ormiston,  and  Lockhart 
of  Carnwath,  a  Whig  and  Tory  of  each  house, 
were  deputed  to  wait  upon  Queen  Anne,  and  repre- 
sent the  dangerous  discontents  which  imposition  of 
a  tax  so  unequal  as  that  upon  malt  was  likely  to 
occasion  in  so  poor  a  country  as  Scotland.  This 
was  stated  to  her  Majesty  personally,  who  returned 
the  answer  ministers  had  put  into  her  mouth — "She 
was  sorry,"  she  said,  "  that  her  people  of  Scotland 
thought  they  had  reason  to  complain ;  but  she 
thought  they  drove  their  resentment  too  far,  and 
wished  they  would  not  repeat  it." 

The  war,  however,  being  ended  by  the  peace  of 
Utrecht,  the  English  proposed  to  extend  the  ob- 
noxious tax  to  Scotland.  The  debates  in  both 
Houses  became  very  animated.  The  English  tes- 
tified some  contempt  for  the  poverty  of  Scotland, 
while  the  Scottish  members,  on  the  other  hand,  re- 
torted fiercely,  that  the  English  took  advantage  of 
their  great  majority  of  numbers  and  privilege  of 
place,  to  say  more  than,  man  to  man,  they  would 
dare  to  answer.     The  Scottish  peers  in  the  Upper 


THE    MALT    TAX    IN    SCOTLAND.  63 

House  maintained  the  cause  of  the  country  with 
equal  vehemence.  But  the  issue  was,  the  duty- 
was  imposed,  with  a  secret  assurance  on  the  part 
of  ministers  that  it  was  not  to  be  exacted.  This 
last  indulgence,  was  what  Scotland,  strictly  speak- 
ing, was  not  entitled  to  look  for,  since  her  own  Es- 
tates had  previously  conceded  the  question ;  and 
they  had  no  right  to  expect  from  the  British  Parlia- 
ment a  boon,  which  their  own,  while  making  the 
bargain,  had  neglected  to  stipulate.  But  they  felt 
they  had  been  treated  with  haughtiness  and  want  of 
courtesy  in  the  course  of  the  debate  ;  and  so  great 
was  their  resentment,  that  in  a  general  meeting  of 
the  forty-five  Scottish  members,  they  came  to  the 
resolution  to  move  for  the  dissolution  of  the  Union, 
as  an  experiment  which  had  failed  in  the  good  ef- 
fects it  was  expected  to  produce — which  resolution 
was  also  adopted  by  the  Scottish  peers.  It  was 
supported*  by  Scottish  members  of  all  parties, 
Whigs  and  Revolutionists,  as  well  as  Tories  and 
Jacobites  ;  and  as  all  the  English  Whigs  who,  be- 
ing in  office,  were  so  eager  for  the  establishment  of 
the  Union,  were  now,  when  in  opposition,  as  eager 
for  its  dissolution,  its  defence  rested  with  the  En- 
glish Tories,  by  whom  it  had  been  originally  op- 
posed at  every  stage  of  its  progress.  This  impor- 
tant treaty,  which  involved  so  much  of  national 
happiness,  stood  in  danger  of  sharing  ihe  fate  of  a 
young  fruit-tree,  cut  down  by  an  ignorant  gardner, 
because  it  bears  no  fruit  in  the  season  after  it  has 
been  planted. 

The  motion  for  the  dissolution  of  the  Union  was 
brought  forward  in  the  House   of  Lords  by  Lord 


,^4  MOTION    FOR    DISbOLVING. 


Findlater  and  Seafield,  that  very  Lord  Findlater 
and  Seafield,  who,  being  Chancellor  of  the  Scot- 
tish Parliament  by  which  the  treaty  was  adjust- 
ed, signed  the  last  adjournment  of  his  country's 
representatives  with  the  jeering  obse^^'ation,  that 
"  there  was  an  end  of  an  old  song."  His  lordship, 
with  a  considerable  degree  of  embarrassment,  aris- 
ing from  the  recollection  of  his  own  inconsistency, 
had  the  assurance  to  move  that  this  "  old  song'' 
should  be  resumed,  and  the  Union  abolished,  on 
account  of  the  four  following  alleged  grievances  : — 

1.  The  abolition  of  the  Privy  Council  of  Scotland  ; 

2.  The  introduction  of  the  English  law  of  High 
Treason;  3.  The"  incapacity  of  Scottish  peers  of 
Britain  ;  4.  The  imposition  of  the  malt  tax.  None 
of  these  reasons  of  complaint  vindicated  Lord  Find- 
later's  proposition,  1.  The  abolition  of  the  Privy 
Council  was  a  boon  rather  than  a  grievance  to  Scot- 
land, which  that  oppressive  body  had  ruled  with  a 
rod  of  iron.  2.  The  English  treason  law  was  pro- 
bably more  severe  in  some  particulars  than  that  of 
Scotland,  but  it  had  the  undeniable  advantage  of 
superior  certainty  and  precision.  3.  The  incapaci- 
ty of  the  Scottish  peers  was  indeed  an  encroach- 
ment upon  their  privileges,  but  it  was  capable  of 
being  reversed,  and  has  been  reversed  accordingly, 
without  the  necessity  of  destroying  the  Union.  4. 
If  the  malt  tax  was  a  grievance,  it  was  one  which 
the  Scottish  commissioners,  and  his  lordship 
amongst  others,  had  under  their  view  during  the  pro- 
gress of  the  treaty,  and  to  which  they  had  formally 
subjected  their  country,  and  were  not,  therefore, 
entitled  to  complain,  as  if  something  new  or  unex- 
pec(«'d  had  happened,  when  the    English  availcfl 


THE    UNION.  66 


themselves  of  a  stipulation  to  which  they  them- 
selves had  consented. 

The  Duke  of  Argyle  supported  the  motion  for 
abrogating  the  Union,  with  far  more  energy  than 
had  beeiudisplayed  by  Lord  Findlater.  He  declar- 
ed, that  when  he  advocated  the  treaty  of  Union,  it 
was  for  the  sole  reason  that  he  saw  no  other  mode 
of  securing  the  Protestant  succession  to  the  throne ; 
he  had  changed  his  mind  on  that  subject,  and 
thought  other  remedies  as  capable  of  securing  that 
great  point.  On  the  insults  and  injuries  which  had 
been  unsparingly  flung  upon  Scotland  and  Scots- 
men, he  spoke  like  a  high-minded  and  high-spirited 
man ;  and  to  those  who  had  hinted  reproaches 
against  him,  as  having  deserted  his  party,  he  replied, 
..  that  he  scorned  the  imputations  they  threw  out,  as 
much  as  he  despised  their  understanding. 

This  bold  orator  came  nearest  to  speaking  out 
the  real  cause  of  the  universal  discontent  of  the 
Scottish  members,  which  was  less  the  pressure  of 
any  actual  grievance,  than  the  sense  of  the  habitual 
insulting  and  injurious  manner  in  which  they  were 
treated  by  the  English  members,  as  if  the  represen- 
tatives of  some  inferior  and  subjugated  province. 
But  personal  resentment,  or  offended  national  pride, 
however  powerful,  ought  not  to  have  been  admitted 
as  reasons  for  altering  a  national  enactment,  which 
had  been  deliberately  and  seriously  entered  into ; 
for  the  welfare  of  posterity  is  not  to  be  sacrificed  to 
the  vindictive  feelings  of  the  present  generation. 

The  debate  on  Lord  Findlater's  motion  was  very 
animated,  and  it  was  wonderful  to  see  the  energy 
with  which  the  Tories  defended  that  Union  which 
6* 


66    MAJORixr  roR  coNTi^uir.u  the  union. 


they  had  opposed  in  every  stage,  while  the  Whigs, 
equally  inconsistent,  attempted  to  pull  down  the 
fabric  which  their  own  hands  had  been  so  active  in 
rearing.  The  former,  indeed,  could  plead,  that, 
though  they  had  not  desired  to  have  i^  treaty  of 
Union,  yet,  such  having  been  once  made,  and  the 
ancient  constitutions  of  both  countries  altered  and 
accommodated  to  it,  there  was  no  inconsistency  in 
their  being  more  willing  it  should  remain,  than  that 
the  principles  of  the  constitution  should  be  rendered 
the  subject  of  such  frequent  chtinges  and  tamper- 
ings.  The  inconsistency  of  the  Whigs  hardly  ad- 
mits of  equal  apology. 

The  division  upon  the  question  was  so  close,  that 
it  was  rejected  by  a  majority  oi  four  only;  so  near- 
ly had  that  important  treaty  received  its  death-blow 
within  six  years  after  it  was  entered  into. 

Shortly  after  this  hairbreadth  escape,-  for  such 
we  may  surely  term  it,  another  circumstance  oc- 
curred, tending  strongly  to  show  with  what  sensi- 
tive jealousy  the  Scots  of  that  day  regarded  any  re- 
flections on  their  country.  The  two  great  parties 
of  Whig  and  Tory,  the  former  forming  the  Opposi 
tion,  and  the  latter  the  Ministerial  party,  besides 
their  regular  war  in  the  House  of  Commons,  had 
maintained  a  skirmishing  warfare  of  pamphlets  and 
lampoons,  many  of  them  written  by  persons  of  dis- 
tinguished talent. 

Of  these,  the  celebrated  Sir  Richard  Steele  wrote 
a  tract,  called  the  Crisi'^,  which  was  widely  circu- 
lated by  the  Whigs.  The  still  more  able  Jonathan 
Swift,  the  intimate  friend  and  advocate  of  the  exist- 
ing ministers,  published  (but  anonymously)  a  reply, 


PAMPHLET    AGAINST    THE    WHIGS.  67 


entitled  "  The  Public  Spirit  of  the  Whigs  set  forth, 
in  their  encouragement  of  the  author  of  the  Crisis." 
It  was  a  sarcastic,  political  lampoon  against  the 
.  Whigs  and  their  champion,  interspersed  with  bit- 
ter reflections  upon  the  Duke  of  Argyle  and  his 
country. 

In  this  composition,  the  author  gives  rein  to  his 
prejudices  against  the  Scottish  nation.  He  grudg- 
ed that  Scotland  should  have  been  admitted  into 
commercial  privileges,  by  means  of  this  Union, 
from  which  Ireland  was  excluded.  The  natural 
mode  of  redressing  this  inequality,  was  certainly  to 
put  all  the  three  nations  on  a  similar  footing.  But 
as  nothing  of  this  kind  seemed  at  that  time  practi- 
cable, Swift  accused  the  Scots  of  aflfectation,  in  pre- 
tending to  quarrel  with  the  terms  of  a  treaty  which 
was  so  much  in  their  favour,  and  supposes,  that 
while  carrying  on  a  debate,  under  pretence  of 
abrogating  the  Union,  they  were  all  the  while  in 
agony  lest  they  should  prove  successful.  Acute  ob- 
server of  men  and  motives  as  he  M^as,  Swift  was  in 
this  instance  mistaken.  Less  sharp-sighted  than 
this  celebrated  author,  and  blinded  by  their  own 
exasperated  pride,  the  Scots  were  desirous  of  wreak- 
ing their  revenge  at  the  expense  of  a  treaty  which 
contained  so  many  latent  advantages,  in  the  same 
manner  as  an  intoxicated  man  vents  his  rage  at  the 
expense  of  valuable  furniture  or  important  papers. 
In  the  pamphlet  which  gave  so  much  offence.  Swift 
denounced  the  Union  "as  a  project  for  which  there 
could  not  possiby  be  assigned  the  least  reason  ;"  and 
he  defied  "  any  mortal  to  name  one  single  advantage 
that  England  could  ever  expect  from  such  a  Uni~ 


68  swift's  pamphlet 


on."  The  necessity,  he  justly,  but  offensively,  im- 
putes to  the  Scots  refusing  to  settle  the  Crown  on 
the  line  of  Hanover,  when,  according  to  the  satir- 
ist, it  was  thought  "highly  dangerous  to  leave  that 
part  of  the  island,  inhabited  by  a  poor,  fierce,  north- 
ern people,  at  liberty  to  put  themselves  under  a 
different  king."  He  censures  Godolphin  highly 
for  suffering  the  Act  of  Security  to  pass,  by  w  hich 
the  Scots  assumed  the  privilege  of  universally  arm- 
ing themselves.  "  The  Union,  he  allows,  became 
necessary,  because  it  might  have  cost  England  a 
year  or  two  of  war  to  reduce  the  Scots."  In  this 
admission.  Swift  pronounces  the  highest  panegyric 
on  the  treaty,  since  the  one  or  two  years  of  hostil- 
ities might  have  only  been  the  recommencement  of 
that  war,  which  had  blazed  inextinguishably  for 
more  than  a  thousand  years. 

The  Duke  of  Argyle  had  been  a  friend,  even  a  pa- 
tron of  the  satirist,  but  that  was  when  he  acted  with 
Oxford  and  Bolingbroke,  in  the  earlier  part  of  the 
administration,  at  which  time  he  gratified  at  once 
their  party  spirit  and  his  own  animosity,  by  attack 
ing  the  Duke  of  Marlborough,  and  declining  to  join 
in  the  vote  of  thanks  to  that  great  general.  While 
Argvle  was  in  Spain,  Swift  had  addressed  a  letter 
to  him  in  that  delicate  style  of  flattery,  of  which  he 
was  as  great  a  master  as  of  every  power  of  satirical 
sarcasm.  But  when  the  Duke  returned  to  Britain, 
embittered  against  ministers  by  their  breach  of  prom- 
ise to  supply  him  with  money  and  reinforcements, 
and  declared  himself  the  unrelenting  opponent  of 
them,  their  party,  and  their  measures.  Swift,  their 
intiniHte  confident  tmd  parti'-iai,  espov.'cd  tlieirnew 


AGAixNST    THE    \'\  HIGS.  6^ 


quarrel,  and  exchanged  the  panegyrics  of  which 
the  Duke  had  been  the  object,  for  poignant  satire. 
Of  the  number  of  the  Scottish  nobility,  he  talks  as 
XHie  of  the  great  evils  of  the  Union,  and  a;sks  if  it 
were  ever  reckoned  as  an  advantage  to  a  man  vv^ho 
was  about  to  marry  a  woman  much  his  inferior, 
and  without  a  groat  to  her  fortune,  that  she  brought 
in  her  train  a  numerous  retinue  of  retainers  and  de- 
pendents. He  is  supposed  to  have  aimed  particu- 
larly at  the  Duke  of  Argyle,  and  his  brother.  Lord 
Islay,  in  these  words  : — "  I  could  point  out  some 
with  great  titles,  who  affected  to  appear  very  vig- 
orous for  dissolving  the  Union,  although  their 
whole  revenue,  before  that  period,  would  ha\e  ill 
maintained  a  Welsh  justice  of  the  peace,  and  have 
since  gathered  more  money  than  ever  any  Scotsman 
who  had  not  travelled  could  form  an  idea  of." 

These  shafts  of  satire  against  a  body  of  men  so 
sensitive  and  vindictive  as  the  Scots  had  lately 
shown  themselves,  and  directed  also  against  a  per- 
son of  the  Duke  of  Argyle's  talents  and  consequence, 
were  not  likely,  as  the  ministers  well  knew,  to  be 
passed  over  lightly,  either  by  those  who  felt  ag- 
grieved, or  the  numerous  opposition  party,  who 
were  sure  to  avail  themselves  of  such  an  opportuni- 
ty for  pressing  home  a  charge  against  Swift,  whom 
all  men  believed  to  be  the  author  of  the  tract, 
and  under  whose  shafts  they  had  suffered  both  as 
a  party  and  as  individuals.  The  ministry  there- 
fore formed  a  plan  to  elude  an  attack,  which  might 
have  been  attended  with  evil  consequences  to  so 
valued  and  valuable  a  partisan. 

They  were   in   the  right  to  have  premeditated  a 


70  SWIPT*6   PAMPHLET. 

scheme  of  defence,  or  rather  ofevasion,  for  the  ac- 
cusation was  taken  up  in  the  House  of  Lords  by  the 
Earl  of  Wharton,  a  nobleman  of  high  talent,  and  not 
less  eager  in  the  task,  that  the  satirist  had  publish- 
ed a  character  of  the  Earl  himself,  drawn  when 
Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  in  which  he  was  paint- 
ed in  the  most  detestable  colours.  Wharton  made 
a  motion,  concluding  that  the  honour  of  the  House 
was  concerned  in  discovering  the  villanous  author 
of  so  false  and  scandalous  a  libel,  that  justice  might 
be  done  to  the  Scottish  nation.  The  Lord  Treas- 
urer Oxford  disclaimed  all  knowledge  of  the  au- 
thor, and  readily  concurred  in  an  order  for  taking 
into  custody  the  publisher  and  printer  of  the  pam- 
phlet complained  of.  On  the  next  day,  the  Earl  of 
Mar  informed  the  House,  that  he,  as  Secretary  of 
State,  had  raised  a  prosecution  in  his  Majesty's 
name  against  John  Barber.  This  course  was  in- 
tended, and  had  the  effect,  to  screen  Swift ;  for, 
when  the  printer  was  himself  made  the  objoct  of  a 
prosecution,  he  could  not  be  used  as  an  evidence 
against  the  author,  whom,  and  not  the  printer  or 
publisher,  it  was  the  pui-pose  of  the  Whigs  to  prose- 
cute. Enraged  at  being  deprived  of  their  prey,  the 
House  of  Peers  addressed  the  Queen,  stating  the 
atrocity  of  the  libel,  and  beseeching  her  Majesty  to 
issue  a  proclamation,  offering  a  reward  for  the  dis- 
covery of  the  author.  The  Duke  of  Argyle  and  the 
Scottish  Lords,  who  would  have  perhaps  acted  with 
a  truer  sense  of  dignity,  had  they  passed  over  such 
calumnies  with  contempt,  pressed  their  address  on 
the  Queen  by  personal  remonstrance,  and  a  reward 
of  three  hundred  pounds  was  offered  for  the  dis- 
covery of  the  writer. 


AGAINST    THE    WHIGS.  71 


Every  one  knew  Swift  to  be  the  person  aimed  at 
as  the  autlior  of  tlie  offensive  tract.  But  he  re- 
mained, nevertheless,  safe  from  legal  detection. 

Thus  I  liave  given  you  an  account  of  some, 
though  not  of  the  whole  debates,  which  the  Union 
was,  in  its  operation,  the  means  of  exciting  in  the 
first  British  Parliament.  The  narrative  affords  a 
melancholy  proof  of  the  errors  into  which  the  wis- 
est and  best  statesmen  are  hurried,  when,  in- 
stead of  considering  important  public  measures 
calmly  and  dispassionately,  they  regard  them  in  the 
erroneous  light  in  which  they  are  presented  by  per- 
sonal feeling  and  party  prejudices.  Men  do  not  in 
the  latter  case  ask,  whether  the  public  will  be 
benefited  or  injured  by  the  enactment  under  consid- 
eration, but  whether  their  own  party  will  reap  most 
advantage  by  defending  or  opposing  it. 


[72  ] 


CHAP.   IV. 


Influence  of  the  Duchess  of  Marlborough  over  Queen  Anne — Trial 
of  Doctor  Sacheverel — Unpopularity  of  the  Whigs — their  Dis- 
missal from  the  Ministry — Accession  of  Harley  and  the  Tory 
Party  to  Power— Peace  of  Utrecht — Plan  of  the  Queen  for 
bringing  in  her  Brother,  the  Chevalier  de  St  George,  as  Suc- 
cessor to  the  Throne — Intrigues  of  Viscount  Bolingbroke  for  the 
same  end— Duel  between  the  Duke  of  Hamilton  and  Lord  Mo- 
hun— Mission  of  Bolingbroke  to  Paris. 

In  my  last  chapter  I  detailed  to  you  the  conse- 
quences of  the  Union,  and  told  you  how  the  unfair, 
unkind,  and  disparaging  reception  which  the  En- 
glish afforded  to  the  Scottish  members  in  the 
Houses  of  Lords  and  Commons,  although  treating 
them  in  their  private  capacities  with  every  species 
of  kindness,  had  very  nearly  occasioned  the  breach 
of  the  treaty.  I  must  now  retrace  the  same  ground, 
to  give  you  a  more  distinct  idea  how  Britain  stood 
in  general  politics,  independent  of  the  frequent  and 
fretful  bickerings  between  England  and  Scotland  in 
the  British  Parliament. 

King  William,  as  I  have  already  told  you,  died 
in  1701,  little  lamented  by  his  subjects,  for  though 
a  man  of  great  ability  he  was  too  cold  and  phleg- 
matic to  inspire  affection,  and  besides  he  was  a 
foreigner.  In  Scotland  his  memory  was  little  rev- 
erenced by  any  party.  The  Highlanders  remem- 
bered (^l^coe,  the  Lowlanders  could  not  forget 
Darien;   tKe  Episcopalians  resented  the  destruc- 


DUCHESS    OF    :,IAllLi;OilOUGH.  73 


tion  of  their  hierarchy,  the  Presbyterians  discovered 
in  his  measures  something  of  Erastianism,  that  is,  a 
purpose  of  subjecting  the  Church  to  the  State. 

Queen  Anne,  therefore,  succeeded  to  her  brother- 
in-law,  to  the  general  satisfaction  of  her  subjects. 
Her  qualities  too,  were  such  as  gained  for  her  at- 
tachment and  esteem.  She  was  a  good  wife,  a 
most  affectionate  mother,  a  kind  mistress,  and  to 
her  domestio»virtues,  a  most  confiding  and  faithful 
friend. 

The  object  of  her  attachment  in  this  latter  ca- 
pacity was  Lady  Churchill,  who  had  been  about 
her  person  from  a  very  early  period.  This  woman 
was  so  high-spirited,  haughty,  and  assuming,  that 
even  her  husband,  (afterwards  the  celebrated  Duke 
of  Marlborough,)  the  conqueror  in  so  many  battles, 
frequently  came  off  less  than  victorious  in  any  do- 
mestic dispute  with  her.  To  this  lady,  Anne,  for 
several  years  before  her  succession  to  the  crown, 
had  been  accustomed  in  a  great  measure  to  yield 
up  her  own  opinions.  She  left  the  house  of  her 
father  James  II.  and  mingled  in  the  Revolution  at 
the  instance  of  Lady  Churchill.  At  her  accession 
Queen  Anne  was  rather  partial  to  the  Tories,  both 
from  regarding  their  principles  as  more  favourable 
to  monarchy,  and  because,  though  the  love  of  pow- 
er, superior  to  most  other  feelings,  might  induce 
her  to  take  possession  of  the  throne,  which  by  he- 
reditary descent  ought  to  have  been  that  of  her 
father  or  brother,  yet  she  still  felt  the  ties  of  family 
affection,  and  was  attached  to  that  class  of  politi- 
cians yv^ho  regarded  the  exiled  family  with  conr  pas- 
iuon,  at  least,  if  not  with  favour.    All  these,  Que<in 


74  INFUENCE    OF    THE 


Anne's  own  natural  wishes  and  predilections,  were 
overborne  by  her  deference  to  her  favourite's  de- 
sires and  interest.  Their  intimacy  had  assumed 
so  close  and  confidential  a  character,  that  she  in- 
sisted that  her  friend  should  lay  aside  all  the  dis- 
tinctions of  royalty  in  addressing  her,  and  they  cor- 
responded together  in  terms  of  the  utmost  equality, 
the  sovereign  assuming  the  name  of  Morley,  the 
servant  that  of  Freeman,  which  lady  Churchill, 
now  Countess  of  Marlborough,  chose  as  expressive 
of  the  frankness  of  her  own  temper.  Sunderland  and 
Godolphin  were  ministers  of  unquestionable  talent, 
who  carried  on  with  perseverance  and  skill  the 
scheme  formed  by  King  William  for  defending  the 
liberties  of  Europe  against  the  encroachments  of 
France.  But  Queen  Anne  reposed  her  confi- 
dence in  them  chiefly  because  they  were  closely 
connected  with  Mrs  Freeman  and  her  husband. 
Now  this  species  of  arrangement,  my  dear  boy, 
was  just  such  a  childish  w^him  as  when  you  and 
your  little  brother  get  into  a  basket,  and  play  at  sail- 
ing down  to  A ,  to  see  grandpapa.  A  sovereign 

cannot  enjoy  the  sort  of  friendship  which  subsists 
between  equals,  for  he  cannot  have  equals  with 
whom  to  form  such  a  union ;  and  every  attempt  to 
play  at  make-believe  intimacy  commonly  ends  in 
the  royal  person's  being  secretly  guided  and  influ- 
enced by  the  flattery  and  assentation  of  an  artful 
and  smooth-tongued  parasite,  or  tyrannized  over  by 
the  ascendance  of  a  haughtier  and  higher  mind  than 
his  own.  The  husband  of  Queen  Anne,  Prince 
George  of  Denmark,  might  have  broken  off  this 
'.  xtreme  familiarity  between  his  wife  and  hei  naugh- 


DUCHESS    OF    MARLBOROUGH.  75 


ty  favourite;  but  he  was  a  quiet,  good,  humane 
man,  meddling  with  nothing,  and  apparently  con- 
sidering himself  as  unfit  for  public  affairs,  which 
agreed  with  the  opinion  entertained  of  him  by 
others. 

The  death  of  Queen  Anne's  son  and  heir,  the 
Duke  of  Gloucester,  the  sole  survivor  of  a  numer- 
ous family,  by  depriving  her  of  the  last  object  of 
domestic  affection,  seemed  to  render  the  Queen's 
extreme  attachment  to  her  friend  more  direct,  and 
Lady  Marlborough's  influence  became  universal. 
The  war  which  was  continued  against  the  French, 
had  the  most  brilliant  success,  and  the  general  was 
loaded  with  honours ;  but  the  Queen  favoured 
Marlborough  less  because  he  was  the  most  ac- 
complished and  successful  general  at  that  time  in 
the  world,  than  as  the  husband  of  her  affectionate 
Mrs  Freeman.  In  short,  the  affairs  of  England, 
at  all  times  so  influential  in  Europe,  turned  alto- 
gether upon  the  private  friendship  between  Mrs 
Freeman  and  Mrs  Morley. 

At  the  moment  when  it  seemed  most  completely 
secure,  this  intimacy  was  overthrown  by  the  influ- 
ence of  a  petty  intrigue  in  the  Queen's  family. 
The  Duchess  of  Marlborough,  otherwise  Mrs 
Freeman,  had  used  the  power  with  which  her  mis- 
tress's partiality  had  invested  her,  far  too  roughly. 
She  was  avaricious  and  imperious  in  her  demands, 
careless,  and  even  insolent  in  her  conduct  towards 
the  Queen  herself.  For  some  time  this  was  endur- 
ed as  an  exercise  of  that  frank  privilege  of  equal- 
ity with  which  her  Majesty's  frendship  had  invest- 
ed her.    For  a  much  longer  space  it  may  be  suppo- 


76  INFLUENCE    OF    THE 


sed,  the  Queen  tolerated  her  caprice  and  insolence, 
partly  because  she  was  afraid  of  her  violent  temper, 
partly  because  she  was  ashamed  to  break  off  the 
romantic  engagement  which  she  had  herself  form- 
ed. She  was  not  however,  the  less  impatient  of  the 
Duchess  of  Marlborough's  yoke,  or  less  watchful 
of  an  apportuuity  to  cast  it  off. 

The  Duchess  had  introduced  among  the  Queen's 
attendants,  in  the  capacity  of  what  was  called  a 
dresser,  a  young  lady  of  good  birth,  named  Abigail 
Hill,  a  kinswoman  of  her  own.  She  was  the  re- 
verse of  the  Duchess  in  her  temper,  being  good-hu 
moured,  lively,  and,  from  disposition  and  policy, wil 
ling  to  please  her  mistress  in  every  manner  possible. 
She  attracted  by  degrees  first  the  Queen's  favour, 
and  at  length  her  confidence  ;  so  that  Anne  sought 
in  the  solicitous  attentions  and  counsels  of  her  new 
friend,  consolation  from  the  rudeness  with  which 
the  Duchess  treated  her  both  in  private  and  public 
life.  The  progress  of  this  intimacy  was  closely 
watched  by  Harley,  a  statesman  of  talents,  and 
hitherto  professing  the  principles  of  the  Whigs. 
He  had  been  repeatedly  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  and  was  Secretary  of  State  in  the  exist- 
ing Whig  administration.  But  he  was  ambitious 
of  higher  rank  in  the  cabinet,  being  conscious  of 
superior  talents,  and  he  caballed  against  the  Duch- 
ess of  Marlborough,  in  consequence  of  her  having 
repulsed  his  civilities  towards  her  with  her  usual 
insolence  of  manner.  The  partner  of  Harley's 
counsels  was  Mr  Henry  St  John,  (afterwards  Lord 
Bolingbroke,)  a  young  man  of  the  most  distinguish- 
ed abilities,  and  who  afterwards  made  a  great 
figure  both  in  politics  and  literature. 


i 


DUCHESS    OF    MARLBOROUGH  77 

Harley  lost  no  time  in  making  advances  to  intima- 
cy with  the  new  favourite ;  and  as  he  claimed  some 
kindred  with  Miss  Hill's  family,  this  was  easily  ac- 
complished. This  lady's  interest  with  the  Queen 
was  now  so  great,  that  she  was  able  to  procure  her 
cousin  private  audiences  with  the  Queen,  who,  ac- 
customed to  the  harshness  of  the  Duchess  of  Marl- 
borough, whose  tone  of  authority  had  been  adopt- 
ed by  the  Whig  ministers  of  the  higher  class,  was 
soothed  by  the  more  respectful  deportment  of  these 
new  counsellors.  Harley  was  more  submissive 
and  deferential  in  his  manners,  and  conducted  him- 
self with  an  attention  to  the  Queen's  wishes  and 
opinions,  to  which  she  had  been  hitherto  little  ac- 
customed. It  was  undoubtedly  his  purpose  to  use 
the  influence  thus  acquired,  to  the  destruction  of 
Godolphin's  authority,  and  to  accomplish  his  own 
rise  to  the  office  of  first  minister.  But  his  attempt 
did  not  succeed  in  the  first  instance.  His  secret 
intrigues  and  private  interviews  with  the  Sovereign 
were  prematurely  discovered,  and  Harley  and  his 
friends  were  compelled  to  resign  their  offices ;  so 
that  the  Whig  administration  seemed  more  deeply 
rooted  than  ever. 

About  the  same  time.  Miss  Hill  was  secretly 
married  to  Mr  Masham  ;  a  match  which  gave 
great  offence  to  the  Duchess  of  Marlborough,  who 
was  beginning  to  feel  that  her  relation  had  super- 
seded her  in  her  mistress's  affections.  As  this 
high-tempered  lady  found  the  Queen's  confidence 
was  transferred  from  her,  she  endeavoured  to  main- 
tain her  ascendency  by  threats  and  intimidation, 
and  was  for  a  time  successful  in  ruling  the  mind  oi 
7* 


78  TALE    OF 


her  late  friend  by  means  of  fear,  as  she  did  formerly 
by  affection.  But  a  false  step  of  the  Whig  admin- 
istration enabled  Queen  Anne  at  last  to  shake  off 
this  intolerable  bondage. 

A  silly  and  hot  headed  clergyman,  named  Sache- 
verel,  had  preached  and  printed  a  political  sermon, 
in  which  he  maintained  high  Tory  principles,  and 
railed  at  Godolphin,  the  Lord  High  Treasurer,  and 
head  of  Queen  Anne's  administration,  whom  he 
termed  Yolpone,  after  an  odious  character  so  nam- 
ed in  one  of  Ben  Johnson's  Plays.  The  great  ma- 
jority of  the  landed  gentlemen  of  England  were  then 
addicted  to  Tory  principles,  and  those  of  the  High 
Church.  So  bold  and  daring  a  sermon,  though  it 
had  no  merit  but  its  audacity  to  recommend  it,  pro- 
cured immence  popularity  amongst  them.  The 
ministers  were  incensed  beyond  becoming  mode- 
ration. The  House  of  Commons  impeached  the 
preacher  before  the  tribunal  of  the  House  of  Lords, 
and  his  trial  came  before  the  Peers  on  27th  Febru- 
ary, 1710.  The  utmost  degree  of  publicity  was 
given  to  it,  by  the  eflbrts  of  the  Whigs  to  obtain 
Doctor  Sacheverel's  conviction  and  a  severe  sen- 
tence, and  by  the  corresponding  exertions  of  the 
Tories  to  screen  him  from  punishment.  The  mul- 
titude took  up  the  cry  of  High  Church  and  Sache- 
\erel,  with  which  they  beset  the  difierent  members 
of  both  Houses  as  they  went  down  to  Parliament. 
The  trial  excited  public  attention,  in  a  degree  hith- 
erto almost  unknown.  The  Queen  herself  attend- 
ed almost  every  day,  and  her  sedan  chair  was  sur- 
rounded by  crowds,  shouting,  "  God  bless  the 
Queen  and  Doctor  Sacheverel  !  we  hope  your  ^Fa 


DOCTOR    SACHEVEREL.  79 


jesty  is  for  High  Church  and  Sacheverel."  The 
mob  arose,  and  exhibited  their  furious  zeal  for  the 
church  by  destroying  the  chapels  and  meeting-hous- 
es of  dissenters,  and  committing  similar  acts  of  vio- 
lence. 

The  consequence  was,  that  the  Doctor  was 
found  guilty  indeed  by  the  House  of  Peers,  but  es- 
caped with  being  suspended  from  preaching  for 
three  years ;  a  sentence  so  slight,  that  it  was  re- 
garded by  the  accused  and  his  friends  as  an  acquit- 
tal, and  they  triumphed  accordingly. 

As  these  manifestations  of  the  public  sentiment 
were  not  confined  to  the  capital,  but  extended  over 
all  England,  they  made  evident,  the  unpopularity 
of  the  Whig  goverament,  and  enco\iraged  the 
Queen  to  put  in  execution  the  plan  she  had  long 
proposed  to  herself,  of  changing  her  ministry,  and 
endeavouring  to  negotiate  a  peace,  and  terminate 
the  war,  which  seemed  to  be  protracted  without 
end.  Anne,  by  this  change  of  government  and 
system,  desired  also  to  secure  the  church,  which 
her  old  prejudices  taught  her  to  believe  was  in  dan- 
ger— and,  above  all,  to  get  rid  of  the  tyranny  of  her 
former  friend,  Mrs  Freeman.  A  new  administra- 
tion, therefore,  was  formed  under  Harley  and  St 
John,  who,  being  supported  by  the  Tory  interest, 
were  chiefly,  if  not  exclusively,  governed  by  Tory 
principles.  At  the  same  time,  the  Duchess  of 
Marlborough  was  deprived  of  all  her  offices  about 
the  Queen's  person,  and  disgraced,  as  it  is  termed 
at  court,  that  is,  dismissed  from  favour  and  employ- 
ment. Her  husband's  services  could  not  be  dis- 
pensed with  so  easily ;  for  while  the  British   army 


80  CHANGE    OF    MINISTRY. 

were  employed,  no  general  could  supply  the  place 
of  Marlborough,  who  had  so  often  led  them  to  vic- 
tory. But  the  Tory  ministers  endeavoured  to  low- 
er him  in  the  eyes  of  the  public,  by  an  investigation 
into  certain  indirect  emoluments  taken  in  his  char- 
acter as  a  general-in-chief,  and  to  get  rid  of  the  in- 
dispensable necessity  of  his  military  ser^'ices,  by 
entering  into  negotiations  for  peace. 

The  French  government  saw  and  availed  them- 
selves of  the  situation  in  which  that  of  Britain  was 
placed.  They  perceived  that  peace  was  absolute- 
ly necessary  to  Oxford  and  Bolingbroke's  existence 
as  ministers,  and  even  more  so  than  it  was  to 
France  as  a  nation,  though  her  frontiers  had  been 
invaded,  her  armies  repeatedly  defeated,  and  even 
her  capital  to  a  certain  degree  exposed  to  insult. 
The  consequence  was,  that  the  French  rose  in  their 
terms,  and  the  peace  of  Utrecht,  after  much  ne- 
gotiation, was  at  length  concluded,  on  conditions 
which  as  they  respected  the  allies,  and  the  British 
nation  in  particular,  were  very  much  disproportion- 
ed  to  the  brilliant  successes  of  the  war. 

That  article  of  the  treaty,  which  was  supposed 
by  all  friends  of  Revolution  principles  to  be  most 
essential  to  the  independence  and  internal  peace  of 
Great  Britain,  seemed  indeed  to  have  been  adjust- 
ed with  some  care.  The  King  of  France  acknowl- 
edged, with  all  formality,  the  right  of  Queen  Anne 
to  the  throne,  guaranteed  the  Act  of  succession 
settling  it  upon  the  House  of  Hanover,  and  agreed 
to  expel  from  his  territories  the  unfortunate  son  of 
James  H.  This  was  done  accordingly.  Yet  not- 
withstanding that  the  Chevalier  de  St  George  was 


PEACE    OF    UTRECHT.  81 


compelled  to  remove  horn  the  territories  of  his  fa- 
ther's ally,  who,  on  James's  death,  had  formally- 
proclaimed  him  King  of  England,  the  unhappy 
Prince  had  perhaps  at  the  moment  of  his  expulsion 
more  solid  hopes  of  being  restored  to  his  father's 
throne,  than  any  which  the  favour  of  Louis  could 
have  afforded  him  This  will  appear  from  the  fol- 
lowing considerations 

Queen  Anne,  as  we  have  already  stated,  was  at- 
tached to  the  High  Church  establishment  and 
clergy  ;  and  the  principles  with  which  these  were 
embued,  if  not  universally  Jacobitical,  were  at 
least  strongly  tinctured  with  a  respect  for  hereditary 
right.  These  doctrines  could  not  be  supposed  to  be 
very  unpleasant  to  the  Queen  herself,  as  a  woman 
or  as  a  sovereign,  and  there  were  circumstances  in 
her  life  which  made  her  more  ready  to  adm.it  them. 
We  have  already  said,  that  the  part  which  Anne 
had  taken  at  the  Revolution,  by  withdrawing  from 
her  father's  house,  had  been  determined  by  the  in- 
fluence of  Lady  Churchill,  who  was  now  as  Duchess 
of  Marlborough,  the  object  of  the  Queen's  hatred, 
as  much  as  ever  she  had  been  that  of  her  afl'ection 
in  the  character  of  Mrs  Freeman,  and  her  opinions 
and  the  steps  which  they  had  led  to,  were  not  pro- 
bably recollected  with  much  complacency.  The 
desertion  of  a  father,  also,  however  coloured  over 
with  political  argument,  is  likely  to  become  towards 
the  close  of  life  a  subject  of  anxious  reflection. 
There  is  little  doubt  that  the  Queen  entertained  re- 
morse on  account  of  her  filial  disobedience  ;  more 
especially,  when  the  early  death  of  her  children, 
and  finally  that  of  a  hopeful  young  prince,  the  Duke 


82        PLAN  OF  QUEEN  ANNE  FOR 

of  Gloucester,  deprived  her  of  all  chance  of  leaving 
the  kingdom  to  an  heir  of  her  own.  These  depri- 
vations seemed  an  appropriate  punishment  to  the 
disobedient  daughter,  who  had  been  permitted  to 
assume  for  a  time  her  father's  crown,  but  not  to 
transmit  it  to  her  heirs.  As  the  Queen's  health  be- 
came broken  and  infirm,  it  was  natural  that  these 
compunctious  thoughts  should  become  still  more  en- 
grossing, and  that  she  should  feel  no  pleasure  in 
contemplating  the  prospect  which  called  the  Prince 
of  Hanover,  a  distant  relation,  to  reign  over  Eng- 
land at  her  decease  ;  or  that  she  should  regard  with 
aversion,  almost  approaching  to  horror,  a  proposal 
of  the  Whig  party,  to  invite  the  Electoral  Prince  to 
visit  Britain,  the  crown  of  which  was  to  devolve 
upon  him  after  the  decease  of  its  present  possessor. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  condition  of  the  Chevalier 
de  St  George,  the  Queen's  brother,  the  only  sur- 
viving male  of  her  family,  a  person  whose  restora- 
tion to  the  crown  of  his  fathers  might  be  the  work 
of  her  own  hand,  was  likely  to  ahect  the  Queen 
with  compassionate  interest,  and  seemed  to  afford 
her  at  the  same  time  an  opportunity  of  redressing 
such  wrongs  as  she  might  conceive  wete  done  to 
her  father,  by  making  a  large  though  a  late  amends 
to  his  son. 

Actuated  by  motives  so  natural,  there  is  little 
doubt  that  Queen  Anne,  so  soon  as  she  had  freed 
herself  from  the  control  of  the  Duchess  of  Marl- 
borough, began  to  turn  her  mind  towards  fixing  the 
succession  of  the  crown  on  her  brother,  the  Cheva- 
lier de  St  George,  after  her  own  death,  to  the  pre- 
judice of  the  act  which  settled  it  on  the  Electoral 


RESTORING    HER   FATHER'S    FAMILY.  83 


Prince  of  Hanover.  And  she  might  be  the  more 
encouraged  to  nourish  some  hopes  of  success,  since 
a  great  portion  of  her  subjects  of  the  Three  King- 
doms were  Jacobites  upon  principle,  and  others 
had  but  a  short  step  to  make  from  the  extremity  of 
Tory  sentiments  to  those  which  were  directly  fa- 
vourable to  the  House  of  Stewart.  Ireland,  the 
last  portion  of  the  British  dominions  which  adher- 
ed to  King  James  the  Second,  could  not  be  sup- 
posed indifferent  to  the  restoration  of  his  son.  In 
England,  a  very  great  proportion  of  the  High  Church 
clergy,  the  Universities,  and  the  Tory  interest  which 
prevailed  among  the  country  gentlemen,  entertain- 
ed the  same  bias,  and  were  at  little  pains  to  con- 
ceal it.  In  Scotland  men  were  still  bolder  in  avow- 
ing their  opinions,  of  which  there  occurred  the  fol- 
lowing instance. 

The  Faculty  of  Advocates  in  Scotland,  that  is  to 
say,  the  incorporated  society  of  lawyers  entitled 
to  practise  at  the  bar,  are  a  body  even  of  more 
weight  and  consequence  than  is  attached  to  them  in 
most  countries  from  the  nature  of  their  profession. 
In  the  beginning  of  the  18th  century,  especially, 
the  Faculty  comprehended  almost  all  the  sons  of 
good  family  who  did  not  embrace  the  army  as  their 
choice  ;  for  the  sword  or  gown,  according  to  the 
ideas  of  that  time,  were  the  only  occupations  which 
could  be  adopted  by  a  gentleman.  The  Advocates 
are  possessed  of  a  noble  library,  and  a  valuable 
collection  of  medals.  To  this  learned  body,  Eliz- 
abeth, Duchess  of  Gordon,  (by  birth,  a  daughter 
of  the  noble  house  of  Howard,  and  a  keen  Jaco- 
bite,) sent  the  present  of  a  medal  for  their  cabinet. 


84  THE    JACOBINISM    ADVOCATES. 


It  bore  on  the  one  side  tlie  head  of  the  Chevalier  de 
St  George,  with  the  motto  Cujusest  ?  (Whom  does 
it  represent?)  and  on  the  reverse  the  British  Isles, 
with  the  legend,  Rcdditc.  (Restore  them.)  The 
Dean  of  Faculty  having  presented  this  very  intelli- 
gible emblem  to  his  brethren,  a  debate  arose, 
whether  or  not  it  should  be  received  into  their  col- 
lection, which  was  carried  on  in  very  warm  lan- 
guage, and  terminated  in  a  vote,  which,  by  a  ma- 
jority of  sixty-three  to  twelve,  resolved  on  the  ac- 
ceptance of  the  medal.  Two  advocates  were  de- 
puted to  express,  in  the  name  of  the  learned  body 
their  thanks  to  the  Duchess  ;  and  they  failed  not 
to  do  it  in  a  manner  expressing  pointedly  their  full 
comprehension  of  the  import  of  her  Grace's  compli- 
ment. They  concluded,  by  stating  their  hope,  that 
her  Grace  would  soon  have  a  farther  opportunity 
to  oblige  the  Faculty,  by  presenting  them  with  a 
second  medal  on  the  subject  of  a  restoration.  But 
when  the  proceeding  became  public,  the  Advocates 
seem  to  have  been  alarmed  for  the  consequences, 
and  at  a  general  meeting  of  the  Faculty  (27th  July, 
1711,)  the  medal  was  formally  refused,  and  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  Lord  Advocate,  to  be  restored 
to  the  Duchess  of  Gordon.  The  retraction,  how- 
ever, could  not  efface  the  evidence,  that  this  learn- 
ed and  important  public  body,  the  commentators 
on  the  laws  of  Scotland,  from  Avhom  the  guardians 
of  her  jurisprudence  are  selected,  had  shov.n  such 
boldness  as  to  give  a  public  mark  of  adherence  to 
the  Chevalier  de  St  George.  It  was  also  remark- 
ed, that  the  Jacobite  interest  predominated  in  many 
of  the  Scottish  elections 


BOLI>'GBROKE    AND    OXFORD.  85 


While  the  Queen  saw  a  large  party  among  her 
subjects  in  each  kingdom  well  disposed  to  her 
brother's  succession,  one  at  least  of  her  ministers 
was  found  audacious  enough  to  contemplate  the 
same  measure,  though,  in  doing  so,  he  might  be  con- 
strued into  impeaching  his  mistress's  own  right  to 
the  sovereign  authority.  This  was  Henry  St  John 
created  Lord  Viscount  Bolingbroke.  He  was  a 
person  of  lively  genius  and  brilliant  parts — a  schol- 
ar, an  orator,  and  a  philosopher.  There  was  a  re- 
verse to  the  fair  side  of  the  picture.  Bolingbroke 
was  dissipated  in  private  life,  daringly  sceptical  in 
theological  speculation,  and  when  his  quick  per- 
ception showed  him  a  chance  of  rising,  he  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  extremely  scrupulous  concern- 
ing the  path  which  he  trode,  so  that  it  led  to  pow- 
er. In  the  beginning  of  his  career  as  a  public  man 
he  attached  himself  to  Harley ;  and  when  that 
statesman  retired  from  the  Whig  administration,  in 
1708,  St  John  shared  his  disgrace,  and  lost  the  sit- 
uation of  Secretary  at  War.  On  the  triumph  of  the 
Tories,  in  1710,  when  Harley  was  made  Prime  Min- 
ister, St  John  was  named  Secretary  of  State.  Pros- 
perity, however,  dissolved  the  friendship  which  had 
withstood  the  attacks  of  adversity  ;  and  it  was  soon 
observed  that  there  was  a  difference  of  opinion  as 
well  as  character  between  the  Premier  and  his  col- 
league. 

Harley,  afterwards  created  Earl  of  Oxford,  was 
a  man  of  a  dark  and  reserved  character — slow,  tim- 
id, and  doubtful,  both  in  counsel  and  action,  and 
apparently  one  of  those  statesmen  who  aifect  to  gov- 
ern by  balancing  the  scales  betwixt  two  contendhig 

VOL.  I.  8 


86  CHARACTERS    OF    BOLINGBROKE 

factions,  until  at  length  they  finally  become  the  ob- 
jects of  suspicion  and  animosity  to  both.  He  had 
been  bred  a  Whig,  and  although  circumstances  had 
disposed  him  to  join,  and  even  to  head,  the  Tories, 
he  was  reluctantly  induced  to  take  any  of  the  vio- 
lent party  measures  which  they  expected  at  his 
hand,  and  seems,  in  return,  never  to  have  possessed 
their  full  confidence  or  unhesitating  support.  How- 
ever far  Oxford  adopted  the  principles  of  Toryism, 
he  stopped  short  of  their  utmost  extent,  and  was 
one  of  the  political  sect  then  called  IVhimsicalsy 
who  were  supposed  not  to  know  their  own  minds, 
because  they  avowed  principles  of  hereditary  right, 
and  at  the  same  time  desired  the  succession  of  the 
line  of  Hanover.  In  evidence  of  his  belonging  to 
this  class  of  politicians,  it  was  remarked  that  he 
sent  his  brother,  Mr  Harley,  to  the  court  of  Hano- 
ver, and  through  him  affected  to  maintain  a  close 
intercourse  with  the  Elector,  and  expressed  much 
zeal  for  the  Protestant  line  of  succession. 

All  this  mystery  and  indecision  was  contrary  to 
the  rapid  and  fiery  genius  of  St  John,  who  felt  that 
he  was  not  admitted  into  the  private  and  ultimate 
views  of  the  colleague  with  whom  he  had  suffered 
adversity.  He  was  disgusted,  too,  that  Harley 
should  be  advanced  to  the  rank  of  an  earl,  while  he 
himself  was  only  created  a  viscount.  His  former 
friendship  and  respect  for  Oxford  was  gradually 
changed  to  coldness,  enmity,  and  hatred,  and  he  be- 
gan, w  ith  much  art,  and  a  temporary  degree  of  suc- 
cess, to  prepare  a  revolution  in  the  state,  which  he 
designed  should  and  in  Oxford's  disgrace,  and  his 
own  elevation  to  the  supreme  authority.     He  enter- 


AND    OXFORD.  87 


ed  with  zeal  into  the  ulterior  designs  of  the  most  ex- 
travagant Tories,  and,  in  order  to  recommend  him- 
self to  the  Queen,  did  not,  it  is  believed,  spare  to 
mingle  in  intrigues  for  the  benefit  of  her  exiled 
brother. 

It  was  remarked,  that  the  Cheyalier  de  St  George, 
when  obliged  to  leave  France,  found  refuge  in  the 
territjjries  of  the  Duke  of  Lorraine ;  and  that  petty 
German  prince  had  the  boldness  to  refuse  an  appli- 
cation of  the  British  Government,  for  the  removal  of 
his  guests  from  his  dominions.  It  was  believed 
that  the  Duke  dared  not  have  acted  thus  unless  he 
had  had  some  private  assurance  that  the  application 
was  only  made  for  an  ostensible  purpose,  and  that 
the  Queen  did  not,  in  reality,  desire  to  deprive  her 
brother  of  this  place  of  refuge.  Other  circumstan- 
ces led  to  the  same  conclusion,  tliat  Anne  and  her 
new  ministers  favoured  the  Jacobite  interest. 

It  is  more  than  probable  that  the  Duke  of  Hamil- 
ton, whom  we  have  so  often  mentioned,  was  to  have 
been  deeply  engaged  in  some  transactions  with  the 
French  court  of  the  most  delicate  nature,  when,  in 
1713,  he  was  named  ambassador  extraordinary  to 
Paris ;  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  they  regard- 
ed the  restoration  of  the  line  of  Stewart.  The  un- 
fortunate nobleman  hinted  this  to  his  friend.  Lock- 
hart  of  Carnwath,  when,  parting  with  him  for  the 
last  time,  he  turned  back  to  embrace  him  again  and 
again,  as  one  who  was  impressed  with  the  consci- 
ousness of  some  weighty  trust,  perhaps  with  a  pre- 
scient sense  of  approaching  calamity.  Misfortune, 
indeed,  was  hovering  over  him,  and  of  a  strange  and 
bloody  character.      Having   a  law  suit  with  Lord 


88     DUEL  OF  MOHUN  AND  HAMILTON'. 


Mohun,  a  nobleraan  of  debauched  and  profligate 
manners,  whose  greatest  achievement  was  having, 
a  few  years  before,  stabbed  a  poor  play  actor  in  a 
drunken  frolic,  the  Duke  of  Hamilton  held  a  meet- 
ing with  his  adversary,  in  the  hope  of  adjusting  their 
dispute.  In  this  conference,  the  Duke,  speaking 
of  an  agent  in  the  case,  said  the  person  in  question 
had  neither  truth  nor  honour,  to  which  Lord  ]\^huu 
replied  he  had  as  much  of  both  qualities  as  hisGrace. 
They  parted  on  the  exchange  of  these  words,  and 
one  would  have  thought  that  the  offence  received, 
lay  on  the  Duke's  side,  and  that  it  was  he  who  way 
called  upon  to  resent  what  had  passed,  in  case  he 
should  think  it  worth  his  while.  Lord  Mohui>^ow- 
ever,  who  gave  the  affront,  contrary  to  the  practice 
in  such  cases,  also  gave  the  challenge.  They  met 
at  the  Ring  in  Hyde  Park,  where  they  fought  with 
swords,  and  in  a  few  minutes  Lord  Mohun  was  kill- 
ed on  the  spot ;  and  the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  mortal- 
ly wounded,  did  not  survive  him  for  a  longer  space. 
Mohun,  who  was  an  odious  and  contemptible  liber- 
tine, was  regretted  by  no  one ;  but  it  was  far  differ- 
ent with  the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  who,  notwithstand- 
ing a  degree  of  irresolution  which  he  displayed  in 
politics,  his  understanding,  perhaps,  not  approving 
the  lengths  to  which  his  feeling  might  have  carried 
him,  had  many  amiable,  and  even  noble  qualities, 
which  made  him  generally  lamented.  The  Tories 
considered  the  death  of  the  Duke  of  Hamilton  as 
so  peculiar,  and  the  period  when  it  happened  as  so 
critical,  that  they  did  not  hesitate  to  avow  a  confi- 
dent belief  that  Lord  Mohun  had  be,(?n  pushed  to 
sending  the  challenge,  by  some  zealots  of  the  Whig 


BOLINGBROKE's   mission    to    PARIS.  89 

party  j  and  even  to  add,  that  the  Duke  fell,  not  by 
the  sword  of  his  antagonist,  but  by  that  of  General 
Macartney,  Lord  Mohun's  second.  The  evidence 
of  Colonel  Hamilton,  second  to  the  Duke,  went  far 
to  establish  the  last  proposition ;  and  General  Ma- 
cartney, seeing,  perhaps,  that  the  public  prejudice 
was  extreme  against  him,  absconded,  and  a  reward 
was  offered  for  his  discovery.  In  the  subsequent 
reign  he  was  brought  to  trial,  and  acquitted,  on  ev- 
idence which  leaves  the  case  far  from  a  clear  one. 

The  death  of  the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  however, 
whether  caused  by  political  resentment  or  private 
hatred,  did  not  interrupt  the  schemes  formed  for  the 
restoration  of  the  Stewart  family.  Lord  Boling- 
broke  himself  went  on  a  mission  to  Paris,  and  it 
appears  highly  probable  he  then  settled  secret  arti- 
cles explanatory  of  those  points  of  the  Utrecht  trea- 
ty, which  had  relation  to  the  expulsion  of  the  pre- 
tender from  the  dominions  of  France,  and  the  dis- 
clamation of  his  right  of  succession  to  the  Crown 
of  Britain.  It  is  probable,  also,  that  these  remain- 
ed concealed  from  the  Premier  Oxford,  to  whose 
views  in  favour  of  the  Hanover  succession  they 
were  distinctly  opposed. 

Such  being  the  temper  of  the  Government  of 
England,  divided,  as  it  was,  betwixt  the  dubious 
conduct  of  Lord  Oxford,  and  the  more  secret,  but 
bolder  and  decided  intrigues  of  Bolingbroke,  the 
general  measures  which  were  adopted  with  respect 
to  Scotland  indicated  a  decided  bias  to  the  Jaco- 
bite interest,  and  those  by  whom  it  was  supported. 


1 


[90] 


CHAP.   V. 

Persecution  of  the  Scottisli  Episcopalians  by  the  Presbyterians — 
Act  of  Toleration — Abjuratiun  Oath— Law  of  Patronage  — Pen- 
sions given  to  the  Highland  Chiefs  to  preserve  their  attachment 
to  the  Jacobite  interest — Preparations  of  tiie  Wiiigs  to  secure  the 
succession  of  the  House  of  Hanover — Quarrel  between  Oxford 
and  Boliiigbroke— Deatli  of  Queen  Anne. 

The  Presbyterians  of  Scotland  had  been  placed 
by  the  Revolution  in  exclusive  possession  of  the 
Church  government  of  that  kingdom.  But  a  con- 
siderable proportion  of  the  country,  particularly  in 
the  more  northern  shires,  remained  attached  to  the 
Episcopal  establishment  and  its  forms  of  worship. 
These,  however,  were  objects  of  enmity  and  fear 
to  the  Church  of  Scotland,  whose  representatives 
and  adherents  exerted  themselves  to  suppress,  by 
every  means  in  their  power,  the  exercise  of  the 
Episcopal  mode  of  worship,  forgetful  of  the  com- 
plaints which  they  themselves  had  so  justly  made 
concerning  the  violation  of  the  liberty  of  conscience 
during  the  reign  of  Charles  li.  and  James  II.  We 
must  here  remark,  that  the  Episcopal  Church  of 
Scotland  had  in  its  ancient  and  triumphant  state,  re- 
tained some  very  slight  and  formal  differences  which 
distinguished  their  Book  of  Common  Prayer  from 
that  which  is  used  in  the  Church  of  England.  But 
in  their  present  distressed  and  desolate  condition, 
many  ol  them  had  become  content  to  resign  these 
points  of  distinction,  and,  by  conforming  exactly  to 


THE    SCOTTISH    EPISCOPALIANS.  91 

the  English  ritual,  endeavoured  to  obtain  a  free- 
dom of  worship  as  Episcopalians  in  Scotland,  sim- 
ilar to  the  indulgence  which  was  granted  to  those 
professing  Presbyterian  principles,  and  other  Pro- 
testant dissenters  in  England.  The  Presbyterian 
Church  Courts,  however,  summoned  such  Episco- 
pal preachers  before  them,  and  prohibited  them 
from  exercising  their  ministry,  under  the  penalty 
of  fine  and  imprisonment,  which  in  the  case  of  one 
person,  (the  Rev.  Mr  Greenshields,)  inflicted  with 
no  sparing  hand.  Others  were  insulted  and  ill- 
used  by  the  multitude,  in  any  attempt  which  they 
mode  to  exercise  their  form  of  worship.  This  was 
the  more  indefensible,  as  some  of  these  Reverend 
persons  joined  in  prayer  for  the  Revolution  estab- 
lishment ;  and  whatever  conjecture  might  be  form- 
ed concerning  the  probability  of  their  attachment  to 
the  exiled  family,  they  had  laid  aside  every  peculi- 
arity on  which  their  present  mode  of  worship  could 
be  objected  to  as  inferring  Jacobitism. 

An  Act  of  Toleration  was  therefore  most  justly 
and  rightfully  passed  (February,  1712)  by  Parlia- 
ment, for  the  toleration  of  all  such  Episcopal  cler- 
gymen using  the  Church  of  England  service,  as 
should  be  disposed  to  take  the  Oath  of  Abjuration, 
renouncing  all  adherence  to  the  cause  of  James  II. 
or  his  descendant,  the  existing  Pretender.  This 
toleration  gave  great  offence  to  the  Presbyterian 
clergy,  since  it  was  taking  out  of  their  hands  a  means 
as  they  alleged,  of  enforcing  uniformity  of  worship, 
which,  they  pretended,  had  been  insured  to  them 
at  the  Revolution.  Every  allowance  is  justly  to  be 
made  for  jealousies  and  apprehensions,  which  severe 


92  OATH    OF    ABJURATION. 


persecution  had  taught  the  ministers  of  the  Scottish 
Church  to  entertain ;  but  impartial  history  shows  us 
how  dangerous  a  matter  it  is  to  intrust  the  judica- 
tures of  any  church  with  the  power  of  tyrannizing 
over  the  consciences  of  those  who  have  adopted 
different  forms  of  worship,  and  how  wise,  as  well 
as  just,  it  is  to  restrict  their  authority  to  the  regu- 
lation of  their  own  establishment. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  was  still  more  offend- 
ed by  the  introduction  of  a  clause  into  this  Act  of 
Toleration,  obliging  the  members  of  their  own 
church,  as  well  as  dissenters  from  their  mode  of 
worship,  to  take  the  Oath  of  abjuration.  This  clause 
had  been  inserted  into  the  Act,  as  it  passed  the 
House  of  Commons,  on  the  motion  of  the  Tories, 
who  alleged  that  the  Ministers  of  the  Kirk  of  Scot- 
land ought  to  give  the  same  security  for  their  fidelity 
to  the  Queen  and  Protestant  succession,  which  was 
to  be  exacted  from  the  Episcopalians.  The  Scottish 
Presbyterians  complained  bitterly  of  this  application 
of  the  Oath  of  Abjuration  to  themselves.  They  con- 
tended that  it  was  unnecessary,  as  no  one  could 
suspect  the  Church  of  Scotland  of  the  least  tenden- 
cy towards  Jacobitism,  and  that  it  was  an  usurpa- 
tion of  the  State  over  the  Church,  to  impose  by 
statute  law  an  oath  on  the  ministers  of  the  Church, 
whom,  in  religious  matters,  they  considered  as 
bound  only  by  the  Acts  of  their  General  Assembly. 
Notwithstanding  their  angry  remonstrances,  the 
Oath  of  Abjuration  was  imposed  on  them  by  the 
same  act  which  decreed  the  tolerance  of  the  Epis- 
copal form  of  worship  on  a  similar  condition. 
The  greater  number  of  the  Presbyterian  ministers 
did  at  length  take  the  oath,  but  many  continued  to 


OATH    OF    ABJURATIONr  93 

be  recusants,  and  suflfered  nothing  in  consequence, 
as  the  government  overlooked  their  non-compli- 
ance. There  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  clause, 
which  seems  otherwise  a  useless  tampering  with 
the  rooted  opinions  of  the  Presbyterians,  was  intend- 
ed for  a  double  purpose.  First,  it  was  likely  to 
create  a  schism  in  the  Scottish  Church,  between 
those  who  might  take,  and  those  who  might  refuse 
the  oath,  which,  as  dividing  the  opinions,  was  like- 
ly to  diminish  the  authority,  and  affect  the  re- 
spectability, of  a  body  zealous  for  the  Protestant 
succession.  Secondly,  it  was  foreseen  that  the 
great  majority  of  the  Episcopal  clergy  in  Scotland 
avowedly  attached  to  the  «Kiled  family,  would 
not  take  the  Oath  of  Abjuration,  and  were  like- 
ly on  that  account  to  be  interrupted  by  the  Pres- 
byterians of  the  country  where  they  exercised  their 
functions.  But  if  a  number  of  the  Presbyterian 
♦clergy  themselves  were  rendered  liable  to  the  same 
charge  for  the  same  omission,  and  only  indebted  for 
their  impunity  to  the  connivance  of  the  government, 
it  was  not  likely  they  would  disturb  others  upon 
grounds  which  might  be  objected  to  themselves. 
The  expedient  was  successful ;  for  though  it  was 
said,  that  only  one  Episcopal  minister  in  Scotland, 
Mr  Cockburn  of  Glasgow,  took  the  Oath  of  xVbju- 
ration,  yet  no  prosecutions  followed  their  recusan- 
cy, because  a  large  portion  of  the  ministers  of  the 
Kirk  would  have  been  liable  to  vexation  on  the 
same  account. 

Another  act  of  the  same  session  of  Parliament, 
which  restored  to  patrons,  as  they  were  called,  the 
right  of  presenting  clergymen  to  vacant  churches 
in  Scotland,   seemed  calculated,  and  was  probably 


94  Law  of  patronage. 

designed,  to  render  the  churchmen  more  dependent 
on  aristocracy,  and  to  separate  them  in  some  de- 
gree from  their  congregations,  who  could  not  be 
supposed  equally  attached  to, or  influenced  by  a  min- 
ister who  held  his  living  by  the  gift  of  a  great  man,as 
by  one  who  was  chosen  by  their  own  free  voice.  Each 
mode  of  election  is  subject  to  its  own  particular  dis- 
advantages. The  necesssity  imposed  on  the  clergy- 
man who  is  desirous  of  preferment,  of  suiting  his 
style  of  preaching  to  the  popular  taste,  together  with 
the  indecent  heats  and  intrigues  which  attend  pop- 
ular elections,  are  serious  objections  to  permitting 
the  flock  to  have  the  choice  of  their  shepherd.  At 
the  same  time,  the  fight  of  patronage  is  apt  to  be 
abused  in  particular  instances,  where  persons  of 
loose  morals,  slender  abilities,  or  depraved  doctrine 
may  be  imposed  by  the  fiat  of  an  unconscientious 
individual,  upon  a  congregation  who  are  unwilling 
to  receive  him.  But  as  the  Presbyterian  clergy 
possess  the  power  of  examination  and  rejection, 
subject  to  an  appeal  to  the  superior  Church  Courts, 
whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  law  of  patronage  in 
theory,  it  has  not,  during  the  lapse  of  more  than  a 
century,  had  any  efl'ect  in  practice  detrimental  to 
the  respectability  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  There 
is  no  doubt,  however,  that  the  restoration  of  the  right 
of  lay  patrons  in  Queen  Anne's  time  was  designed  to 
separate  the  ministers  of  the  Kirk  from  the  people, 
and  to  render  them  more  dependent  on  the  nobility 
and  gentry,  amongst  whom,  much  more  than  the 
common  people,  the  sentiments  of  Jacobitism  pre- 
dominated. 

These  measures,   though  all  of  them  indirectly 
tending  to   favour  the  Tory  party,  which  might,  in 


STATE    OF    THE    iiiGIILANDS.  95 


Scotland,  be  generally  termed  that  of  the  Stewart 
family,  had  yet  other  motives  which  might  be  plau- 
sibly alleged  for  their  adoption. 

Whatever  might  be  the  number  and  importance 
of  the  Lowland  gentry  in  Scotland,  who  were  attach- 
ed to  the  cause  of  the  Chevalier  de  St  George,  and 
that  number  was  certainly  very  considerable,  the  al- 
tered circumstances  of  the  country  had  so  much  re- 
stricted their  authority  over  the  inferior  classes,  that 
they  could  no  longer  reckon  upon  raising  any  con- 
siderable number  of  men  by  their  own  influence,  nor 
had  they,  since  the  repeal  of  the  Aci  of  Security, 
the  power  of  mustering  or  disciplining  their  follow- 
ers, so  as  to  render  them  fit  for  military  service.  It 
was  not  to  be  expected  that,  with  the  aid  of  such 
members  of  their  family,  domestics,  or  dependents, 
as  might  join  them  in  any  insurrection,  they  could 
do  morf  than  equip  a  few  squadrons  of  horse,  and 
even  if  they  could  have  found  men,  they  were  gen- 
erally deficient  in  arms,  horses,  and  the  means  of 
taking  the  field. 

The  Highland  clans  were  in  a  different  state  ; 
they  were  as  much  under  the  command  of  their  su- 
perior chiefs  and  chieftains  as  ever  they  had  been 
during  the  earlier  part  of  their  history ;  and,  sepa- 
rated from  civilization  by  the  wildernesses  in  which 
they  lived,  they  spoke  the  language,  wore  the  dress, 
submitted  to  the  government,  and  wielded  the  arms 
of  their  fathers.  It  is  true,  that  clan  wars  were  not 
now  practised  on  the  former  great  scale,  and  that 
two  or  three  small  garrisons  of  soldiers  quarfiered 
amongst  them  put  some  stop  to  their  predatory  in- 
cursions.    The   superior  chieftains  and  tacksmen, 


96  STATE    OF    THE    HIGHLANDS. 


more  especially  the  dumJie-tcassalsj  or  dependent 
gentlemen  of  the  tribe,  were  in  no  degree  superior 
in  knowledge  to  the  common  clansmen.  The  high 
chiefs,  or  heads  of  the  considerable  clans,  were  in 
a  very  different  situation.  They  were  almost  all 
men  of  good  education,  and  polite  manners,  and 
when  in  Lowland  dress  and  Lowland  society,  were 
scarce  to  be  distinguished  from  other  gentlemen, 
excepting  by  an  assumption  of  consequence,  the 
natural  companion  of  conscious  authority.  They 
often  travelled  abroad,  and  sometimes  entered  the 
military  service,  looking  always  forward  to  the  time 
when  their  swords  should  be  required  in  the  cause 
of  the  Stewarts,  to  whom  they  were  in  general  ex- 
tremely attached  ;  though  in  the  West  Highlands 
the  great  influence  of  the  Duke  of  Argyle,  and  in 
the  North  that  of  the  Earl  of  Sutherland  and  Lord 
Reay,  together  with  the  chiefs  of  Grant,  Rose,  Mun- 
ro,  and  other  northern  tribes,  fixed  their  clans  in 
the  Whig  interest. 

These  chiefs  were  poor;  for  the  produce  of  their 
extensive  but  barren  domains  was  entirely  consum- 
ed in  supporting  the  military  force  of  the  clan,  from 
whom  no  industry  was  to  be  expected,  as  it  would 
have  degraded  them  in  their  own  eyes,  and  in  those 
of  their  leaders,  and  rendered  them  unfit  for  the 
discharge  of  their  warlike  duties.  The  chiefs,  at 
the  same  time,  when  out  of  the  Highlands,  were  ex- 
pensive as  well  as  needy.  The  sense  of  self-im- 
portance, which  we  have  already  noticed,  induced 
them  to  im-itate  the  expenses  of  a  rich  country,  and 
many,  by  this  inconsistent  conduct,  exposed  them- 
selves to  pecuniary  distress.      To  such  men  money 


THE    HIGHLAND    CHIEFS    PENSIONED.  9T 


was  particularly  acceptable,  and  it  was  distributed 
among  them  annually  by  Queen  Anne's  govern- 
ment, during  the  latter  years  of  her  reign,  to  the 
amount  of  betwixt  three  and  four  thousand  pounds. 
The  particular  sum  allotted  to  each  chief  was  about 
£360  sterling,  for  which  a  receipt  was  taken,  as 
for  a  complete  year's  payment  of  the  bounty-money, 
which  her  Majesty  had  been  pleased  to  bestow  oiw 
the  receiver. 

These  supplies  were  received  the  more  willingly, 
because  the  Highland  chiefs  had  no  hesitation  in 
regarding  the  money  as  the  earnest  of  pay  to  be  is- 
sued for  their  exertions  in  the  cause  of  the  House  of 
Stewart,  to  which  they  conceived  themselves  to  be 
attached  by  duty,  and  certainly  were  so  by  inclina:- 
tion.  And  there  can  be  no  doubt,  as  the  pensions 
were  sure  to  be  expended  in  maintaining  and  in- 
creasing their  patriarchal  followers,  and  keeping 
them  in  readiness  for  action,  it  seems  to  have  been 
considered  by  the  chiefs,  that  the  largesses  were 
designed  by  government  for  that,  and  no  other  pur- 
pose. The  money  was  placed  at  the  disposal  of 
the  Earl  of  Mar,  Secretary  of  State,  and  his  being 
the  agent  of  this  bounty,  gave  him  the  opportunity  of 
improving  and  extending  his  influence  among  the 
Highland  chiefs,  afterwards  so  fatally  employed  for 
them  and  for  himself. 

The  construction  which  the  chiefs  put  upon  the  ^ 
bounty  bestowed  on  them  was  clearly  shown  by 
their  joining  in  a  supplication  to  the  Queen,  about 
the  end  of  the  year  1713,  which  got  the  name  of 
the  Sword-in-hand  Address.  In  one  paragraph, 
they  applaud  the  measures  taken  repressing  the  li- 

voL.  I.  9  ■ 


1 


08  THE    HIGHLAND    CHIEFS 


cence  of  the  press,  and  trust  that  they  should  no 
longer  be  scandalized  by  hearing  the  Deity  blas- 
phemed, and  the  sacred  race  of  Stewart  traduced, 
with  equal  malice  and  impunity.  In  another,  they 
expressed  their  hopes,  that,  after  her  Majesty's  de- 
mise, "  the  hereditary  and  parliamentary  sanction 
might  possibly  meet  in  the  person  of  a  lineal  suc- 
cessor." These  intimations  are  sufficiently  plain, 
^o  testify  the  sense  in  which  they  understood  the 
Queen's  bounty-money. 

The  Duke  of  Argyle,  whose  own  influence  in 
the  Highlands  was  cramped  and  interfered  with  by 
the  encouragement  given  to  the  Jacobite  clans, 
brought  the  system  of  their  pensions  before  Par- 
liament, as  a  severe  charge  against  the  ministers, 
whom  he  denounced  as  rendering  the  Highland  a 
seminary  for  rebellion.  The  charge  led  to  a  de- 
bate of  importance. 

The  duke  of  Argyle  represented  that  "the  Scots 
Highlanders,  being  for  the  most  part  either  rank 
Papists,  or  declared  Jacobites,  the  giving  them  pe- 
cuniary assistance  was,  in  fact,  keeping  up  Popish 
seminaries  and  fomenting  rebellion."  In  answer 
to  this  the  Treasurer  Oxford  alleged,  "  That  in 
this  particular  he  had  but  followed  the  example  of 
King  William,  who,  after  he  had  reduced  the  High- 
landers, thought  fit  to  allow  yearly  pensions  to  the 
heads  of  clans,  in  order  to  keep  them  quiet; 
and  if  the  present  ministry  could  be  charged  with 
any  mismanagement  on  that  head,  it  was  only  for 
retrenching  part  of  these  gratuities."  This  refer- 
ence to  the  example  of  King  William,  seemed  to 
shut  the  door  against  all  cavil  on  the  subject, 
and  the  e«?cape  from  censure  was  regarded  as  a  tri- 


PENSIONED    BY    GOVERNMENT.  99 

umph  by  the  ministers.  Yet  as  it  was  well  under- 
stood, that  the  pensions  were  made  under  the  guise 
of  military  pay,  it  might  have  been  safely  doubted, 
whether  encouraging  the  Chiefs  to  increase  the 
numbers  and  military  strength  of  their  clans  was 
likely  to  render  them  more  orderly  or  peaceable 
subjects ;  and  the  scheme  of  ministers  seemed,  on 
the  whole,  to  resemble  greatly  the  expedient  of  the 
child's  keeper,  who  should  give  her  squalling 
charge  a  knife  in  order  to  keep  it  quiet. 

These  various  indications  manifested  that  the 
Ministry,  at  least  a  strong  party  of  them,  were  fa- 
vourable to  the  Pretender,  and  meant  to  call  him  to 
the  throne  on  the  Queen's  decease.  This  event 
could  not  now  be  far  distant,  since,  with  every 
symptom  of  declining  health,  Anne  was  harassed  at 
once  with  factions  among  her  subjects  and  divi- 
sions in  her  councils,  and  always  of  a  timid  temper, 
had  now  become,  from  finding  her  confidence  be- 
trayed, as  jealous  and  suspicious  as  she  had  been 
originally  docile  in  suffering  herself  to  be  guided 
without  doubt  or  hesitation.  She  had  many  subjects 
^  of  apprehension  pressing  upon  a  mind  which,  nev- 
er of  peculiar  strength,  was  now  enfeebled  by  dis- 
ease. She  desired,  probably,  the  succession  of  her 
brother,  but  she  was  jealous  lest  the  hour  of  that 
succession  might  be  anticipated  by  the  zeal  of  his 
followers ;  nor  did  she  less  dread,  lest  the  effects 
of  that  enthusiasm  for  the  house  of  Hanover, 
which  animated  the  Whigs,  might  bring  the  Elec- 
toral Prince  over  to  England,  which  she  compar- 
ed to  digging  her  grave  while  she  was  yet  alive. 
The  disputes  betwixt  Oxford  and  Bolingbroke  di- 


100  FLA?JS    OF    THi:    WiiiGS. 


vided  her  councils,  and  filled  them  with  ir.utuai  up- 
braidings,  which  sometimes  took  pla -e  before  the 
Queen  ;  who  naturally  very  sensitive  tj  the  neglect 
of  the  personal  etiquette  due  to  her  rank,  v>as  at 
once  alarmed  by  their  violence,  and  offended  by 
the  loose  which  they  gave  to  their  passions  in  her 
very  presence. 

The  Whigs,  alarmed  at  the  near  prospect  of  a 
crisis  which  the  death  of  the  Queen  could  not  fail 
to  bring  on,  made  the  most  energetic  and  simulta- 
neous preparations  to  support  the  Hanoverian  suc- 
cession to  the  crown,  by  arms,  if  necessary.  They 
took  special  care  to  represent,  at  the  court  of  Han- 
over their  dangers  and  sufferings  on  account  of 
their  attachment  to  the  Protestant  line  ;  and  such 
of  them  as  lost  places  of  honour  or  profit,  were,  it 
may  be  believed,  neither  moderate  in  their  com- 
plaints, nor  sparing  in  the  odious  portraits  which 
they  drew  of  their  Tory  opponents.  The  Duke  of 
Argyle,  and  Generals  Stanhope  and  Cadogan,  were 
actively  engaged  in  preparing  such  otncers  of  the 
British  army  as  they  dared  trust,  to  induce  the  sol- 
diers, in  case  of  need,  to  declare  themselves  against 
the  party  who  had  disgraced  Marlborough,  their 
victorious  general — had  undervalued  the  achieve- 
ments which  they  had  performed  under  his  com- 
mand, and  put  a  stop  to  the  career  of  British  con- 
quest by  so  doing.  The  Elector  of  Hanover  was 
induced  to  negotiate  with  Holland  and  other  pow- 
ers to  supply  him  with  troops  and  shipping,  in  case* 
it  should  be  necessary  to  use  force  in  supporting 
his  title  to  the  succession  of  Great  Britain.  A 
fecheme  was  laid  for  taking  possession  of  the  Tow- 
er on  the  first  appearance  of  danger  ;  and  the  great 


DIVISION  OF    THE    MINISTRY.  101 


men  of  the  party  entered  into  an  association,  bind- 
ing the*hiselves  to  stand  by  each  other  in  defence 
of  the  Protestant  succession. 

While  the  Whigs  were  united  in  these  energetic 
and  daring  measures,  the  Tory  ministers  were,  by 
their  total  disunion,  rendered  incapable  of  availing 
themselves  of  the  high  ground  which  they  occupied, 
as  heads  of  the  administration,  or  by  the  time  al- 
lowed them  by  the  flitting  sands  of  the  Queen's  life, 
which  were  now  rapidly  ebbing.  The  discord  be- 
tween Oxford  and  Bolingbroke  had  now  risen  so 
high,  that  the  latter  frankly  said,  that  if  the  question 
were  betwixt  the  total  ruin  of  their  party,  and  re- 
conciliation with  Oxford  and  safety,  he  would  not 
hesitate  to  choose  the  first  alternative.  Their 
views  of  public  affairs  were  totally  different.  The 
Earl  of  Oxford  advised  moderate  measures,  and 
even  some  compromise  or  reconciliation  with  the 
W^higs.  Bolingbroke  conceived  he  should  best 
meet  the  Queen's  opinions  by  affecting  the  most 
zealous  high  church  principles,  giving  hopes  of  the 
succession  of  her  brother  after  her  death,  and  by 
assiduously  cultivating  the  good  graces  of  Mrs 
Hill,  (now  created  Lady  Masham,)  the  royal  fa- 
vourite ;  in  which,  by  the  superior  grace  of  his 
manners,  and  similarity  of  opinions,  he  had  entire- 
ly superseded  the  Lord  Treasurer  Oxford. 

This  dissension  betwixt  the  political  rivals,  which 
had  smouldered  so  long,  broke  out  into  open  hos- 
tility in  the  month  of  July,  1714,  when  an  extreme- 
ly bitter  dialogue,  abounding  in  mutual  recrimina- 
tions, passed  in  the  Queen's  presence  betwixt  Lord 
Treasurer  Oxford  on  the  one  part,  and  Bolingbroke 
9* 


102  DEATH    OF    QUEEZ;    A^^E. 


and  Lady  Masham  on  the  other.     It  ended  in  the 
Lord  Treasurer's  being  deprived  of  his  office. 

The  road  was  now  open  to  the  full  career  of 
Bolingbroke's  ambition.  The  hour  he  had  wished 
and  lived  for  was  arrived;  and  neither  he  himself, 
nor  any  other  person,  entertained  a  doubt  that  he 
would  be  raised  to  the  rank  of  Lord  Treasurer  and 
first  Minister.  But  vain  are  human  hopes  and  ex- 
pectations !  The  unfortunate  Queen  had  suffered 
so  much  from  the  fatigue  and  agitation  which  she 
had  undergone  during  the  scene  of  discord  which 
she  had  witnessed,  that  she  declared  she  could  not 
survive  it.  Her  apprehensions  proved  prophetic. 
The  stormy  consultation,  or  rather  debate,  to  which 
we  have  alluded,  was  held  on  the  27th  July,  1714. 
On  the  2Sth,  the  Queen  was  seized  with  a  lethargic 
disorder.     On  the  30th,  her  life  was  despaired  of. 

Upon  that  day,  the  Dukes  of  Somerset  and  Ar- 
gyle,  both  hostile  to  the  present,  or,  as  it  might 
rather  now  be  called,  the  late,  administration,  took 
the  determined  step  of  repairing  to  the  Council- 
board,  where  the  other  members,  humbled,  per- 
plexed, and  terrified,  were  all  contented  to  accept 
their  assistance.  On  their  suggestion,  the  trea- 
surer's staff  was  conferred  on  the  Duke  of  Shrews- 
bury, a  step  with  which  the  dying  Queen  declared 
her  satisfaction ;  and  thus  fell  the  towering  hopes 
of  Bolingbroke. 

On  the  1st  of  August  Queen  Anne  expired,  the 
last  of  the  lineal  Stewart  race  who  sat  on  the  throne 
of  Britain.  She  was  only  fifty  years  old,  having 
reigned  for  twelve  years  ;  and  her  death  took  place 
at  the  most  critical  period  which  the  empire  had 
pxperit'nred  sMicc  the  Revolution. 


[  103  ] 


CHAP.   VI. 

Proclamation  of  King  George  I. — The  Earl  of  Stair's  Embassy  to 
France— his  influence  in  preventing  opposition  on  the  part  of 
Louis  XIV.  to  the  Accession  of  the  Elector  of  Hanover — State 
of  Parties  on  the  arrival  of  George  I. — Imprisonment  of  Oxford, 
and  Impeachment  of  Bolingbroke  and  Ormond — Insurrection 
planned  by  the  Jacobites — The  Earl  of  Mar  is  repulsed  in  his 
advances  to  the  new  Monarch,  and  retires  to  Scotland — The 
Scottish  Cavaliers — Hunting  of  Braemar,  and  resolution  of  the 
Jacobite  Leaders  to  take  up  arms— Attempt  to  surprise  .Edin- 
bargh  Cast  le — Preparations  of  Government  to  oppose  the  Insur- 
gent Jacobites. 

The  period  of  Queen  Anne's  demise  found  the 
Jacobites,  for  a  party  who  were  both  numerous  and 
zealous,  uncommonly  ill  prepared  and  irresolute. 
They  had  nursed  themselves  in  the  hope  that  the 
dark  and  mysterious  conduct  of  Oxford  was  design- 
ed to  favour  his  purpose  of  a  counter  revolution ; 
and  the  more  open  professions  of  Bolingbroke, 
which  reached  the  Jacobites  of  Scotland  through 
the  medium  of  the  Earl  of  Mar,  were  considered  as 
pointing  more  explicitly  to  the  same  important  end. 

But  they  were  mistaken  in  Oxford's  purpose,  who 
only  acted  towards  them  as  it  was  in  his  nature 
to  do  towards  all  mankind ;  and  so  regulated  his  con- 
duct as  to  cause  the  Jacobites  to  believe  he  was 
upon  their  side,  while,  in  fact,  his  only  purpose  was 
to  keep  factions  from  breaking  into  extremeties,  and 
to  rule  all  parties,  by  affording  hopes  to  each  in  their 
turn,  which  were  all  ultimately  found  delusive. 

Bolingbroke,  on   the  other  hand,  was  more  san- 


104  HESITATION    OF    THE    JACOBITES. 

guine  and  decided,  both  in  opinion  and  action  ;  and 
he  would  probably  have  been  sufficiently  active  in 
his  measures  in  behalf  of  King  James,  had  he  pos- 
sessed the  power  of  maturing  them.  But  being 
thus  mocked  by  the  cross  fate  which  showed  him 
the  place  of  his  ambition  at  one  moment  empty,  and 
in  the  next  all  access  to  it  closed  against  him,  he 
was  taken  totally  unprepared  ;  and  the  Duke  ofOr- 
mond.  Sir  William  Windham,  and  other  leaders  of 
the  Jacobite  party,  shared  the  same  disadvantage. 
They  might,  indeed,  have  proclaimed  King  James 
the  Third  in  the  person  of  the  Chevalier  de  St  George 
and  trusted  to  their  influence  with  the  Tory  landed 
gentlemen,  and  with  the  populace,  to  effect  an  uni- 
versal insurrection.  Some  of  them  even  inclined 
to  this  desperate  measure ;  and  the  celebrated  Dr 
Alterbury,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  offered  to  go  to 
Westminster  in  his  rochet  and  lawn  sleeves,  and 
himself  to  perform  the  ceremony.  This,  however, 
would  have  been  commencing  a  civil  war,  in  which, 
the  succession  of  the  House  of  Hanover  being  de- 
termined by  the  existing  law,  the  insurrectionists 
must  have  begun  by  incurring  the  guilt  of  high  trea- 
son, without  being  assured  of  any  force  by  which 
they  might  be  protected.  Upon  the  whole,  there- 
fore, the  Jacobites,  and  those  who  wished  them 
well,  remained,  after  the  Queen's  death,  dejected, 
confused,  and  anxiously  watchful  of  circumstances, 
which  they  did  not  pretend  to  regulate  or  control. 
On  the  contrary,  the  Whigs,  acting  with  uncom- 
mon firmness  and  unanimity,  took  hold  of  the  power 
which  had  so  lately  been  possessed  by  their  op- 
ponents, like  troops  who  seize  in  action  the  artillery 


PROCLAMATION    OF    KING    UECKGE.  106 


of  their  enemy,  and  turn  it  instantly  against  them. 
The  privy  councillors  who  were  of  that  party, 
imitating  the  determined  conduct  of  the  Dukes  of 
Somerset  and  Argyie,  repaired  to  the  Council,  with- 
out w^aiting  for  a  summons,  and  issued  instant  orders 
for  the  proclamation  of  King  George,  which  were 
generally  obeyed  without  resistance.  The  assem- 
bled Parliament  recognized  King  George  I.  as  the 
sovereign  entitled  to  succeed,  in  terms  of  the  act 
regulating  the  destination  of  the  crown.  The  same 
proclamation  took  place  in  Ireland  and  Scotland 
without  opposition ;  and  thus  the  King  took  legal 
and  peaceable  possession  of  his  kingdom.  It  ap- 
peared, also,  that  England's  most  powerful,  and,  it 
Hj^might  seem,  most  hostile  neighbour,  Louis  XIV., 
was  nowise  disposed  to  encourage  any  machinations 
which  could  disturb  the  Elector  of  Hanover's  acces- 
sion to  the  crown.  The  Chevalier  de  St  George 
had  made  a  hasty  journey  to  Paris,  upon  learning 
the  tidings  of  Queen  Anne's  death  ;  but  far  from  ex- 
periencing a  reception  favourable  to  his  views  on 
the  British  crown,  he  was  obliged  to  return  to  Lor- 
raine, with  the  sad  assurance  that  the  monarch  of 
France  was  determined  to  adhere  to  the  Treaty  of 
Utrecht,  by  an  important  article  of  which  he  had  re- 
cognized the  succession  of  the  House  of  Hanover 
to  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain.  It  is  more  than  pro- 
bable, as  before  hinted,  that  there  had  been,  during 
the  dependence  of  the  treaty,  some  private  under- 
standing, or  perhaps  secret  agreement  with  Boling- 
broke,  which  might  disarm  the  rigour  of  this  article. 
But  it  was  evident  that  the  power  of  the  ministers 
with  whom  such  an  engjagement  had  been  made,  if 


106  EARL   OF    STAIR. 


indeed  it  existed  in  any  formal  shape,  was  now  ut- 
terly fallen ;  and  the  affairs  of  Britain  were,  soon 
after  King  George's  accession,  entrusted  to  a  min- 
istry, who  had  the  sagacity  to  keep  the  French  King 
firm  to  his  engagement,  by  sending  to  Paris  an  am- 
bassador, equally  distinguished  for  talents  in  war 
and  in  diplomacy,  and  for  warm  adherence  to  the 
Protestant  line. 

This  eminent  person  was  John  Dalrymple,  the 
second  Earl  of  Stair,  whose  character  demands 
particular  notice  amongst  the  celebrated  Scotsmen 
of  this  period.  He  was  eldest  surviving  son  of  the 
first  Earl,  distinguished  more  for  his  talents  than  his 
principles,  in  the  reigns  of  King  William  and  Queen 
Anne,  infamous  for  his  accession  to  the  massacre  of 
Glencoe,  and  unpopular  from  the  skill  and  political 
talent  which  he  displayed  in  favour  of  the  Union,  in 
carrying  which  through  the  Scottish  Parliament  he 
was  a  most  useful  agent.  According  to  the  preju- 
diced observations  of  the  common  people,  ill  fortune 
seemed  to  attend  his  house.  He  died  suddenly  du- 
ring the  dependence  of  the  Union  treaty,  and  vulgar 
report  attributed  his  death  to  suicide,  for  which, how- 
ever, there  is  no  evidence  but  that  of  common  fame. 

A  previous  calamity  of  a  cruel  nature  had  occur- 
red, in  which  John,  his  second  son,  was  the  unfortu- 
nate agent.  While  yet  a  mere  boy,  and  while  play- 
ing with  fire-arms,  he  had  the  the  great  misfortune 
to  shoot  his  elder  brother,  and  kill  him  on  the  spot. 
The  unhappy  agent  in  this  melancholy  affair  was 
sent  off  by  the  ill-fated  parents,  who  could  not  bear 
to  look  upon  him,  to  reside  with  a  clergyman  in  Ayr- 
shire, as  one  who  was   for  ever  banished  from  his 


EARL    OF    STAIR.  107 


family.  The  person  to  whose  care  he  was  commit- 
ted was  fortunately  a  man  of  sound  sense,  and  a 
keen  discriminator  of  character.  The  idea  he  form- 
ed of  the  young  exile's  powers  of  mind  induced  him 
by  a  succession  of  favourable  reports,  mixed  with 
intercession,  warmly  to  solicit  his  pupil's  restoration 
to  the  family,  of  which  he  afterwards  became  the 
principal  ornament.  It  was  long  before  he  could 
effect  a  reconciliation ;  and  the  youth,  when  this  was 
accomplished,  entered  into  the  army  with  the  advan- 
tages of  his  rank,  and  those  arising  out  of  early  mis- 
fortune, which  had  compelled  him  to  severe  study. 
He  was  repeatedly  distinguished  in  the  wars  of 
Marlborough,  and  particularly  at  Ramilies,  Ouden- 
arde,  and  Malplaquet.  Lord  Stair  rose  in  rank  in 
proportion  to  his  miltary  reputation,  but  was  depriv- 
ed of  his  command  when  the  Tory  ministers,  in  the 
latter  end  of  Queen  Anne's  reign,  new  modelled 
the  army,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  Whig  officers. 
Upon  the  accession  of  George  I.^  he  was  appointed 
a  Lord  of  the  Bed-chamber,  a  Privy  Councillor,  and 
commander  of  the  Scottish  forces  in  the  absence  of 
the  Duke  of  Argyle.  Shortly  after  that  great  event, 
the  Earl  of  Stair  was,  as  we  have  already  mention- 
ed, sent  to  Paris,  where  he  held  for  several  years 
the  situation  of  amlDassador  extraordinary,  and  where 
his  almost  miraculous  power  of  acquiring  informa- 
tion enabled  him  to  detect  the  most  secret  intrigues 
of  the  Jacobites,  and  to  watch,  and  even  overawe, 
the  conduct  of  the  court  of  France,  who,  well  dispo- 
sed as  they  Vn  ere  to  encourage  privately  the  under- 
takings of"  the  Chevalier  St  George,  which  public 
faith  prevented    them  from  countenancing  openly, 


108  EMBASSY    TO    FRANCE. 


found  themselves  under  the  eye  of  the  most  active. 
and  acute  of  statesmen,  from  whom  nothing  seem- 
ed to  remain  concealed  ;  while  his  character  for 
courage,  talent,  and  integrity,  made  it  equally  im- 
possible to  intimidate,  deceive,  or  influence  him.  It 
may  be  added,  that  his  perfect  knowledge  of  good 
breeding,  in  a  nation  where  manners  are  reduced 
almost  to  a  science,  enabled  Lord  Stair  to  preserve 
the  good-will  and  favour  of  those  with  whom  he 
treated,  even  while  he  insisted  upon  topics  the  most 
unpalatable  to  the  French  monarch  and  his  minis- 
ter, and  that  in  a  manner  the  most  courteous  in 
style,  though  most  unyielding  in  purpose.  It  may 
be  believed  that  large  sums  in  secret  service  money- 
were  lavished  in  this  species  of  diplomacy.  Lord 
Stair  was  always  able,  by  his  superior  information, 
to  counteract  the  plots  of  the  Jacobites,  and,  satis- 
fied with  doing  so,  was  often  desirous  of  screening 
from  the  vengeance  of  his  own  court  the  misguided 
individuals  who  had  rashly  engaged  in  them.  It 
was  owing  to  the  activity  of  this  vigilant  diploma- 
tist that  George  I.  owed,  in  a  great  measure,  the 
neutrality  of  France,  which  was  a  very  important 
addition  to  the  security  of  his  new  throne. 

To  return  to  our  history: — George  I.,  thus  qui- 
etly installed  in  his  British  dominions,  landed  at 
Greenwich  on  the  17th  of  September,  six  weeks 
after  the  death  of  his  predecessor.  Queen  Anne. 
The  two  great  parties  of  the  kingdom  seemed  in  ap- 
pearance equally  disposed  to  receive  him  as  their 
rightful  monarch ;  and  both  submitted  to  his  sway, 
though  with  very  different  hopes  and  feelings. 

The  triumphant  Whigs  were  naturally  assured  of 
King  George's  favour  towards    those  who  had  al- 


STATE    GF    lAnXiES.  109 

ways  shown  themselves  friendly  to  his  title  to  the 
throne;  and  confident  of  the  merit  tli^ey  might  claim, 
were  desirous  of  exerting  their  influence,  to  the  ut- 
ter disgrace,  discomfiture,  and  total  suppression,  of 
their  political  opponents. 

The  Tories,  on  the  other  hand,  thought  it  still 
possible,  while  renouncing  every  plan  of  opposing 
the  accession  of  King  George,  to  present  them- 
selves before  him  in  such  a  manner  as  might  com- 
mand regard ;  for  the  number,  quality,  and  impor- 
tance of  a  party,  which  comprised  a  great  majority 
of  the  established  clergy,  the  greater  part  of  both 
the  universities,  many,  if  not  the  largest  portion  of 
the  lawyers,  and  the  bulk  of  the  proprietors  of  the 
soil,  or  what  is  called  the  landed  interest,  rendered 
their  appearance  imposing.  Though  dejected  and 
humbled,  therefore,  by  their  fall  from  power,  they 
consoled  themselves  with  the  idea,  that  they  were 
too  numerous  and  too  important  to  be  ill  received 
by  a  Sovereign  whose  accession  they  had  not  op- 
posed, and  whom,  on  the  contrary,  they  had  shown 
themselves  willing  to  acknowledge  in  the  capacity 
of  their  monarch,  disproving,  as  they  might  be  dis- 
posed to  think,  by  their  dutiful  demonstrations,  any 
rumours  which  might  have  reached  his  Majesty  of 
the  disaff'ection  of  many  among  them  to  his  person. 

It  would  certainly  have  been  the  best  policy  of 
the  newly  enthroned  monarch,  to  have  received  and 
rewarded  the  services  of  the  Whigs,  without  lend- 
ing himself  to  the  gratification  of  their  political  en- 
mities. There  was  little  policy  in  taking  measures 
which  were  likely  to  drive  into  despair,  and  proba- 
bly into  rebellion,  a  large  party  among  his  subjects ; 
VOL.  1.  10 


no  IMPEACHMENT    OF    THE    TORIES. 

anti  there  might  have  been  more  wisdom,  perhaps, 
as  well  as  magnanimity,  in  overlooking  circumstan- 
ces v^hich  had  occured  before  his  accession — in 
receiving  the  allegiance  and  dutiful  professions  of 
the  Tories,  without  attaching  any  visible  doubts  to 
their  sincerity — in  becoming  thus  the  King  of  Great 
Britain,  instead  of  the  ch^ef  of  a  party — and  by  stifl- 
ing the  remembrance  of  old  feuds,  and  showing  him- 
self indifferently  the  paternal  ruler  of  all  his  sub- 
jects, to  have  convinced  any  who  remained  disaf- 
fected, that  if  they  desired  to  have  another  prince, 
they  had  at  least  no  personal  reason  for  doing  so. 

We  cannot,  however,  be  surprised  that  George 
I.,  a  foreign  prince,  totally  unacquainted  with  the 
character  of  the  British  nation,  their  peculiar  con- 
stitution, and  the  spirit  of  their  parties, — which  usu- 
ally appear,  when  in  the  act  of  collision,  much  more 
violent  and  extravagant  than  they  prove  to  be  when 
a  cessation  of  hostilities  takes  place, — should  have 
been  disposed  to  throw  himself  into  the  arms  of  the 
Whigs,  wlio  could  plead  their  sufferings  for  having 
steadily  adhered  to  his  interest ;  or  that  those  who 
had  been  his  steady  adherents  should  have  found 
him  willingly  inclined  to  aid  them  in  measures  of 
vindictive  retaliation  upon  their  opponents,  whom 
he  had  some  reason  to  regard  as  his  personal  ene- 
mies. It  was  a  case,  in  which  to  fprgive  would 
have  been  politic,  as  well  as  magnanimous ;  but  to 
resent  injuries,  and  revenge  them,  was  a  course  nat- 
ural to  human  feeling. 

The  late  ministers  seemed  for  a  time  disposed  to 
abide  the  shock  of  the  enmity  of  their  political  ri- 
vals. Lord  Oxford  waited  on  the  King  at  his  land- 
ing, and  though  coldly  received,  remained  in  Lon- 


IMPEACHMENT    OF    ORMOND.  Ill 


don  till  impeached  of  high  treason  by  the  House 
of  Commons,  and  committed  to  the  Tower.  Lord 
Bolingbroke  continued  to  exercise  his  office  of  Sec- 
retary of  State  until  he  was  almost  forcibly  depriv- 
ed of  it.  An  impeachment  was  also  brought  against 
him.  His  conscience  probably  pleaded  guilty,  for 
he  retired  to  France,  and  soon  after  became  Secre- 
tary to  the  Chevalier  de  St  George.  The  Duke 
of  Ormond,  a  nobleman  of  popular  qualities,  brave, 
generous,  and  liberal,  was  in  like  manner  impeach- 
ed, and  in  like  manner  made  his  escape  to  France. 
His  fate  was  peculiarly  regretted,  for  the  general 
voice  exculpated  him  from  taking  any  step  with  a 
view  to  selfish  aggrandisement.  Several  of  the 
Whigs  themselves,  who  were  disposed  to  prosecute 
to  the  uttermost  the  mysterious  Oxford  and  the  in- 
triguing Bolingbroke,  were  inclined  to  sympathise 
with  the  gallant  and  generous  cavalier,  who  had  al- 
ways professd  openly  the  principles  on  which  he 
acted.  Many  other  distinguished  persons  of  the 
Tory  party  were  threatened  with  prosecutions,  or 
actually  subjected  to  them ;  which  filled  the  whole 
body  with  fear  and  alarm,  and  inclined  some  of  the 
leaders  amongst  them  to  listen  to  the  desperate 
counsels  of  the  more  zealous  Jacobites,  wli>  ex- 
horted them  to  try  their  strength  with  an  enemy 
who  showed  themselves  implacable,  and  not  to  sub- 
mit to  their  ruin  without  an  effort  to  defend  them- 
selves. A  large  party  of  the  populace  all  through 
the  country,  and  in  London  itself,  renewed  the  cry 
of  "High  Church  forever,"  with  which  were  min- 
gled the  names  of  Ormond  and  Oxford,  the  princi- 
pal persons  under  prosecution.     Among  the  cler- 


112  INSURRECTION    IN    SCOTLAND. 

gy,  there  were  found  many  who,  out  of  zeal  for  their 
order,  encouraged  the  lower  classes  in  their  disor- 
derly proceedings ;  in  which  they  burnt  and  de- 
stroyed the  meeting-houses  of  dissenters,  pillaged 
the  houses  of  their  ministers,  and  committed  all 
those  irregularities  by  which  an  English  mob  is  dis- 
tinguished, but  whose  vehemence  of  sentiment  gen- 
erally evaporates  in  such  acts  of  clamour  and  vio- 
lence. 

There  were,  however,  deeper  symptoms  of  disaf- 
fection than  those  displayed  in  the  empty  roar  and 
senseless  ravage  of  the  populace.  Bolingbroke 
and  Ormond,  who  had  both  found  refuge  at  the  court 
of  the  Pretender  to  the  crown,  and  acknowledged 
his  title,  carried  on  a  secret  correspondence  with 
the  Tories  of  influence  and  rank  in  England,  and 
encouraged  them  to  seek,  in  a  general  insurrection 
for  the  cause  of  James  III.,  a  remedy  for  the  evils 
with  which  they  were  threatened,  both  personally 
and  as  a  political  party.  But  England  had  been 
long  a  peaceful  country.  The  gentry  were  opulent, 
tnd  little  disposed  to  risk,  in  the  event  of  war,  their 
fortunes  and  the  comforts  which  they  procured  them. 
Strong  assistance  from  France  might  have  render- 
ed the  proposal  of  an  insurrection  more  acceptable  ; 
but  the  successful  diplomacy  of  Lord  Stair  at  the 
Court  of  Louis  destroyed  all  hopes  of  this,  unless 
on  a  pitifully  small  scale.  Another  resource  occur- 
red to  the  Jacobite  leaders,  which  might  be  attain- 
ed by  instigating  Scotland  to  set  the  example  of  in- 
surrection. The  gentry  in  that  country  were  ready 
for  war,  which  had  been  familiar  to  them  on  many 
occasions  during  tlie  lives  of  their  fathers  and  their 


CONDUCT    OF    THE    EARL    OF    MAR.  113 


own.  They  might  be  easily  induced  to  take  arms 
— the  Highlanders,  to  whom  war  was  a  state  pre- 
ferable to  peace,  were  sure  to  take  the  field  with 
them — the  Border  counties  of  England  were  most 
likely  to  catch  the  flame,  from  the  disposition  of 
many  of  the  gentry  there — and  the  conflagration,  it 
^vas  expected,  might,  in  the  present  humour  of  the 
nation,  be  extended  all  over  England.  To  effect 
a  rising,  therefore,  in  Scotland,  with  a  view  to  a 
general  insurrection  throughout  Great  Britain,  be- 
came the  principal  object  of  those  who  were  affect- 
ed by,  or  who  resented,  the  prosecution  directed 
with  so  much  rigour  against  the  members  of  Queen 
Anne's  last  ministry.  ^i 

The  Earl  of  Mar,  whom  we  have  repeatedly 
mentioned  as  Secretary  of  State  durihg  the  last  years 
of  Queen  Anne,  and  as  the  person  to  whom  the  dis- 
tribution of  money  among  the  Highland  clans,  and 
the  general  management  of  Scottish  affairs,  was  in- 
trusted by  her  ministry,  was  naturally  considered  as 
the  person  best  qualified  to  bring  his  countrymen  to 
the  desired  point.  Mar  had  not  felt  any  difl[iculty 
in  changing  from  the  Whig  principles  which  he  pro- 
fessed at  the  time  of  the  Union, — on  which  occasion 
he  was  one  of  the  Scottish  Secretaries  of  State, — 
to  the  Tory  principles  of  Bolingbroke,  which  he  now 
professed.  We  do  him,  therefore,  no  wrong  in  sup- 
posing, that  he  would  not  have  sturdily  rejected  any 
proposal  from  the  court  of  George  I.  to  return  to 
the  party  of  Whig  and  Low  Church.  At  least  it  is 
certain,  that  when  the  heads  of  the  Tory  party  had 
determined  to  submit  themselves  to  George  I., 
Lord  Mar,  in  following  the  general  example,  en- 
10* 


114  DONDUCT    OF    THE 


deavoured  to  distinguish  himself  by  a  display  of  iu- 
fluence  and   consequence,  which  might  mark  him 
as  a  man  whose  adherence  was  worth  securing,  and 
who  was,  at  the  same  time,  willing  to  attach  him- 
self to  the  new  sovereign.     In  a  letter  addressed  to 
King   George    while  in  Holland,  and  dated  30th 
August,  1714,  the   Earl  expresses  great  apprehen- 
sion that  his  loyalty  or  zeal  for  the  King's  interests 
may  have  been  misrepresented  to  his  Majesty,  be- 
cause he  found  himself  the  only  one  of  Queen  An- 
ne's servants  whom  the  Hanoverian  ministers  at  the 
court  of  London  did  not  visit.     His  lordship  then 
pleads  the  loyalty  of  his  ancestors,  his  own  services 
at  the  Union,  and  in  passing  the  Act  of  Succession  ; 
and,  assuring  the  King  that  he  will  find  him  as  faith- 
ful a  subject  and   servant  as  ever  any  of  his  family 
had  been  to  the  preceding  royal  race,  or  as  he  him- 
self had  been  to  the  late   Queen,  he  conjures  him 
not  to  believe  any  misrepresentations  of  his  conduct, 
and  concludes  with  a  devout  prayer  for  the  quiet  and 
peaceful  reign  of  the  monarch,  in  disturbing  which 
he  himself  was  destined  to  be  the  prime  instrument. 
But  it  was  not  only  on  his  individual  application 
that  the  Earl  of  Mar  expected  indemnity,  and  per- 
haps favour,  at  the  court  of  George  I.     He  desired 
also  to  display  his  influence  over  the  Highlanders, 
and  for  that  purpose  procured  a  letter,  subscribed 
by  a  number  of  the  most  influential   Chiefs  of  the 
clans,  addressed  to  himself,  as  having  an  estate  and 
interest  in    the  Highlands,  conjuring  him  to  assure 
the  government  of  their  loyalty  to  his  Sacred  Majes- 
ty, King  George,  and  to  protect  them,  and  the  heads 
of  other  clans  who,  from  distance,  could  not  attend 


EARL    OF    MAR.  115 


at  the  signing  of  the  letter,  against  the  misrepresen- 
tations to  which  they  might  be  exposed;  protesting, 
that  as  they  had  been  ready  to  follow  Lord  Mar's 
directions  in  obeying  Queen  Anne,  so  they  would 
be  equally  forward  to  concur  with  him  in  faithfully 
serving  King  George.  At  the  same  time  a  loyal 
address  of  the  clans  to  the  same  effect,  drawn 
up  by  Lord  Grange,  brother  to  Mar,  was  for- 
warded to  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Earl,  to 
be  delivered  to  the  King  at  his  landing.  Lord  Mar 
attended  at  Greenwich  accordingly,  and  doubtless 
expected  a  favourable  reception,  when  delivering  to 
the  new  Monarch  a  recognition  of  his  authority  on 
the  part  of  a  class  of  his  subjects  who  were  sup- 
posed to  be  inimical  to  his  accession,  and  were  cer- 
tainly best  prepared  to  disturb  his  new  reign.  Lord 
Mar,  was,  however,  informed  that  the  King  would 
not  receive  the  address  of  the  clans,  alleging  it  had 
been  concocted  at  the  court  of  the  Pretender  ;  and 
he  was  at  the  same  time  commanded  to  deliver  up 
the  seals,  and  informed  that  the  King  had  no  far- 
ther occasion  for  his  services. 

On  the  policy  of  this  repulse  it  is  almost  unne- 
cessary to  make  observations.  Although  it  might 
be  very  true,  that  the  address  was  made  up  with  the 
sanction  of  the  Chevalier  de  St  George  and  his  ad- 
visers, it  was  not  less  the  interest  of  George  L  to 
have  received,  with  the  usual  civility,  the  expres- 
sions of  homage  and  allegiance  which  it  contained. 
In  a  similar  situation.  King  William  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  receive,  with  apparent  confidence,  the  sub- 
mission of  the  Highland  clans,  though  it  was  well 
understood  that  it  was  made  under  the  express  au- 


116  COINDUCT    OF    THE    EARL    OF    MAR. 

thority  of  King  James  the  II.  A  monarch  whose 
claim  to  obedience  is  yet  young,  ought  in  policy  to 
avoid  an  immediate  quarrel  with  any  part  of  his  sub- 
jects who  are  ready  to  profess  allegiance  as  such. 
His  authority  is,  like  a  transplanted  tree,  subject  to 
injury  from  each  sudden  blast,  and  ought,  therefore, 
to  be  secured  from  such,  until  it  is  gradually  con- 
nected by  the  ramilication  of  its  roots  incorporating 
themselves  with  the  soil  in  which  it  is  planted.  A 
sudden  gust  may  in  one  case  overturn,  what  in  the 
other  can  defy  the  rage  of  a  continued  tempest.  It 
seems  at  least  certain,  that  in  bluntly,  and  in  a  dis- 
paraging manner,  refusing  an  address  expressing 
allegiance  and  loyalty,  and  affronting  the  haughty 
courtier  by  whom  it  was  presented.  King  George 
exposed  his  government  to  the  desperate  alterna- 
tive of  civil  war,  and  the  melancholy  expedient  of 
closing  it  by  bringing  many  noble  victims  to  the 
scaffold,  which  during  the  reign  of  his  predecessor 
had  never  been  stained  with  British  blood  shed  for 
political  causes.  The  impolicy,  however,  cannot 
justly  be  imputed  to  a  foreign  prince,  who,  looking 
at  the  list  of  Celtic  names,  and  barbarously  unpro- 
nounceable designations  which  were  attached  to  the 
address,  could  not  be  supposed  to  infer  from  thence, 
that  the  subscribers  were  collectively  capable  of 
bringing  into  the  field,  on  the  shortest  notice,  ten 
thousand  men,  who,  if  not  regular  soldiers,  were  ac- 
customed to  a  sort  of  discipline  which  rendered 
them  equal  to  such.  There  were  many  around  the 
King  who  could  have  informed  him  on  this  subject ; 
and,  to  their  failing  to  do  so,  the  blood-shed,  and 
concomitant  misfortunes  of  the  future  civil  war, 
must  iii'^tlv  W  attributed. 


MAR^S    ARRIVAL    IN    SCOTLAND.  117 


The  Earl  of  Mar,  thus  repulsed  in  his  advances 
to  the  new  monarchy,  necessarily  concluded,  that 
his  ruin  was  determined  on ;  and  with  the  desire 
of  revenge,  which  was  natural  at  least,  if  not  justi- 
fiable, he  resolved  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of 
the  disaffected  party  in  Scotland,  encouraging  them 
to  instant  insurrection,  and  paying  back  the  contu- 
mely with  which  his  offer  of  service  had  been  re- 
jected, by  endangering  the  government  of  the  prince 
at  whose  hands  he  had  experienced  such  an  insult. 

It  was  early  in  August,  1715,  that  the  Earl  of 
Mar  embarked  at  Gravesend,  in  the  strictest  incog- 
nito, having  for  his  companions  Major-general 
Hamilton  and  Colonel  Hay,  men  of  some  military 
experience.  They  sailed  in  a  coal-sloop,  working, 
it  was  said,  their  passage,  the  better  to  maintain 
their  disguise,  till  they  landed  at  the  small  port  of 
Elie,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Fife,  a  country  which 
then  abounded  with  friends  to  the  Jacobite  cause. 
The  state  of  this  province  in  other  respects  offered 
facilities  to  Mar.  It  is  a  peninsula,  separated  from 
Lothian  by  the  Frith  of  Forth,  and  from  the  shire  of 
Angus  by  that  of  Tay ;  and  as  it  did  not,  until  a 
very  late  period,  hold  much  intercourse  with  the 
metropolis,  though  so  near  it  in  point  of  distance,  it 
seemed  like  a  district  separated  from  the  rest  of 
Scotland,  and  was  sometimes  jocosely  termed  the 
"Kingdom  of  Fief."  The  commonalty  were,  in 
the  beginning  of  the  18th  century,  almost  exclusive- 
ly attached  to  the  Presbyterian  persuasion ;  but  it 
was  otherwise  with  the  gentry,  who  were  numer- 
ous in  this  province  to  a  degree  little  known  in  oth- 
er parts  of  Scotland.     Its  security,  during  the  long 


113        THE  SCOTTISH  CAVALIERS. 


wars  of  former  centuries,  had  made  it  early  ac- 
quainted -with  civilization.  The  value  of  the  soil, 
on  the  sea-coasts  at  least,  had  admitted  of  great 
subdivision  of  property ;  and  there  is  no  county  of 
Scotland  which  displays  so  many  country-seats 
within  so  short  a  distance  of  each  other.  These 
gentlemen  were,  as  we  have  said,  chiefly  of  the  To- 
ry persuasion,  or,  in  other  words,  Jacobites ;  for  the 
subdivision  of  politicians  termed  IVhimsicals,  or 
Tories  attached  to  the  House  of  Hanover,  could 
hardly  be  said  to  exist  in  Scotland,  though  well 
known  in  South  Britain.  Besides  their  tenets,  the 
Fief  Lairds  were  most  of  them  men  who  had  not 
much  to  lose  in  civil  broils,  having  to  support  an 
establishment  considerably  above  the  actual  rents 
of  their  estates,  which  were,  of  course,  impaired  by 
increasing  debts  :  they  were,  therefore,  the  less  un- 
willing to  engage  in  dangerous  enterprises.  As  a 
party  affecting  the  manners  of  the  ancient  Cava- 
liers, they  were  jovial  in  their  habits,  and  cautious 
to  omit  no  opportunity  of  drinking  the  King's  health; 
a  point  of  loyalty  which,  like  virtue  of  other  kinds, 
had  its  own  immediate  reward.  Loud  and  bold 
talkers,  the  Jacobites  had  accustomed  themselves 
to  think  they  were  the  prevailing  party  ;  an  idea 
which  those  of  any  particular  faction,  who  converse 
exclusively  with  each  other,  are  usually  found  to 
entertain.  Their  want  of  knowledge  of  the  world, 
and  the  total  absence  of  newspapers,  save  those  of 
a  strong  party  leaning,  whose  doctrines  or  facts 
they  took  care  never  to  correct  by  consulting  any 
of  an  opposite  tendency,  rendered  them  at  once  cu- 
rious   and   crcdaloiis.     This  slight  sketch   of  the 


THE    SCOTTISH    CAVALIERS.  119 


Fife  lairds  may  be  applied,  with  equal  justice,  to 
the  Jacobite  country  gentlemen  of  that  period  in 
most  counties  of  Scotland.  They  had  virtues  to 
balance  their  faults  and  follies.  The  political  prin- 
ciples they  followed  had  been  handed  down  to  them 
from  their  fathers  ;  they  were  connected,  in  their 
ideas,  with  the  honour  of  their  country ;  and  they 
were  prepared  to  defend  them  with  a  degree  of  zeal, 
which  valued  not  the  personal  risks  in  which  the 
doing  so  might  place  life  and  property.  There 
were  also  individuals  among  them  who  had  natural 
talents  improved  by  education.  But,  in  general, 
the  persons  whom  the  Earl  of  Mar  was  now  desir- 
ous to  stir  up  to  some  sudden  act  of  mutiny,  were 
of  that  frank  and  fearless  class  who  are  not  guilty 
of  seeing  far  before  them.  They  had  already  par- 
taken in  the  general  excitation  caused  by  Queen 
Anne's  death,  and  the  approaching  crisis  which  was 
expected  to  follow  that  important  event.  They 
had  struggled  with  the  Whig  gentry,  inferior  in  num- 
ber, but  generally  more  alert  and  sagacious  in  coun- 
sel and  action,  concerning  the  addresses  of  head- 
courts  and  the  seats  on  the  bench  of  justices.  Many 
of  them  had  commissioned  swords,  carabines,  and 
pistols  from  abroad.  They  had  bought  up  horses 
fit  for  military  service  ;  and  some  had  taken  into 
their  service  additional  domestics,  selecting  in  pref- 
erence men  who  had  served  in  some  of  the  dragoon 
regiments,  which  had  been  reduced  in  consequence 
of  the  peace  of  Utrecht.  Still,  notwithstanding 
these  preparations  for  a  rising,  some  of  the  leading 
men  in  Fife,  as  elsewhere,  were  disposed  to  hesi- 
tate before  engaging  in  the  irretrievable  step  of  re- 


120       THE  SCOTTISH  CAVALIERS. 

bellion  against  the  established  government.  Their 
reluctance  was  overcome  by  the  impatience  of  the 
majority,  excited  by  the  flattering  though  premature 
rumours  which  were  actively  circulated  by  a  set  of 
men,  who  might  be  termed  the  Intelligencers  of  the 
faction. 

It  is  well  known,  that  in  every  great  political  body 
there  are  persons,  usually  neither  the  wisest,  the 
most  important,  or  most  estimable,  who  endeavour 
to  gain  personal  consequence  by  pretending  pecu- 
liar access  to  information  concerning  its  most  inti- 
mate concerns,  and  who  are  equally  credulous  in 
believing,  and  indefatigable  in  communicating, 
whatever  rumours  are  afloat  concerning  the  affairs 
of  the  party,  whom  they  encumber  by  adhering  to. 
With  several  of  these  Lord  Mar  communicated,  and 
exalted  their  hopes  to  the  highest  pitch,  by  the  ad- 
vantageous light  in  which  he  placed  the  political 
matters  which  he  wished  them  to  support,  trusting 
to  the  exaggerations  and  amplifications  w4th  which 
they  were  sure  to  retail  what  he  had  said. 

Such  agents,  changing  what  had  been  stated  as 
probabilities  into  certainties,  furnished  an  answer  to 
every  objection  which  could  be  off'ered  by  the  more 
prudent  of  their  party.  If  any  cautious  person  ob- 
jected to  stir  before  the  EnglishJacobites  had  shown 
themselves  serious — some  one  of  these  active  vouch- 
ers was  ready  to  afiirm,  that  every  thing  was  on  the 
point  of  a  general  rising  in  England,  and  only  wait- 
ed the  appearance  of  a  French  fleet  with  ten  thou- 
sand men,  headed  by  the  Duke  of  Ormond.  Did 
the  listener  prefer  an  invasion  of  Scotland, — the 
same  number  of  men,  with  the  Duke  of  Bermckat 


THE  SCOTTISH  CAVALIERS.        121 


their  head,  were  as  readily  promised.  Supplies  of 
every  kind  were  measured  out,  according  to  the  de- 
sire of  the  auditors ;  and  if  any  was  moderate  enough 
to  restrain  his  wish  to  a  pair  of  pistols  for  his  own 
use,  he  was  assured  of  twenty  brace  to  accommo- 
date his  friends  and  neighbours.  This  kind  of  mu- 
tual delusion  was  every  day  increasing ;  for  as 
those  who  engaged  in  the  conspiracy  were  inter- 
ested in  obtaining  as  many  proselytes  as  possible, 
they  became  active  circulators  of  the  sanguine  hopes 
and  expectations  by  which  they,  perhaps,  began  al 
ready  to  suspect  that  they  had  been  themselves  de- 
ceived. 

It  is  true,  that,  looking  abroad  at  the  condition 
of  Europe,  these  unfortunate  gentlemen  ought  to 
have  seen,  that  the  state  of  France  at  that  time  was 
far  from  being  such,  as  to  authorize  any  expecta- 
tions of  the  prodigal  supplies  which  she  was  repre- 
sented as  being  ready  to  furnish,  or,  rather,  as  being 
in  the  act  of  furnishing.  Nothing  was  less  likely, 
than  that  kingdom,  just  extricated  from  a  war 
in  which  it  had  been  nearly  ruined,  by  a  peace  so 
much  more  advantageous  than  they  had  reason  to 
expect,  should  have  been  disposed  to  afford  a  pre- 
text for  breaking  the  treaty  which  had  pacified  Eu- 
rope, and  for  renewing  against  France  the  confed- 
eracy under  whose  pressure  she  had  nearly  sunk. 
This  was  more  especially  the  case,  when,  by  the 
death  of  Louis  XIV.,*  whose  ambition  and  sense- 
less vanity  had  cost  so  much  blood,  the  government 
devolved  on  the  Regent  Duke  of  Orleans.  Had 
Louis  survived,  it  is  probable  that,  although  heneith- 

*  1st  of  August,  1715. 
VOL.   I  11 


122  THE    SCOTTISH    CAVALIERS. 

er  did  nor  dared  to  have  publicly  adopted  the  cause 
of  the  Chevalier  de  St  George,  as  was  indeed  evi- 
dent by  his  refusing  to  receive  him  at  his  court ; 
yet,  the  recollection  of  his  promise  to  the  dying 
James  the  II.,  as  well  as  the  wish  to  embarrass  Eng- 
land, might  have  induced  him  to  advance  money, 
or  give  some  underhand  assistance  to  the  unhappy 
exile.  But,  upon  Louis's  death,  the  policy  of  the 
Duke  of  Orleans,  who  had  no  personal  ties  what- 
ever with  the  Chevalier  de  St  George,  induced 
him  to  keep  entire  good  faith  with  Britain — to  com- 
ply with  the  requisitions  of  the  Earl  of  Stair — and 
to  put  a  stop  to  all  such  preparations  in  the  French 
ports,  as  the  vigilance  of  that  minister  had  detected, 
and  denounced  as  being  made  for  the  purpose  of 
favouring  the  Jacobite  insurrection.  Thus,  while 
the  Chevalier  de  St  George  was  represented  as 
obtaining  succours  in  arms,  money,  and  troops, 
from  France,  to  an  amount  which  that  kingdom 
could  hardly  have  supplied,  and,  from  her  inferiority 
in  naval  force,  certainly  must  have  found  it  difficult 
to  have  transported  into  Britain,  even  in  Louis's 
most  palmy  days,  the  ports  of  that  country  were 
even  closed  against  such  exertions  as  the  Chevalier 
might  make  upon  a  small  scale  by  means  of  his 
private  resources. 

But  the  death  of  Louis  XIV.  was  represented  in 
Scotland  as  rather  favourable,  than  otherwise,  to 
the  cause  of  James  the  Pretender.  The  power  of 
France  was  now  wielded,  it  was  said,  by  a  courage- 
ous and  active  young  prince,  to  whose  character  en- 
terprise was  more  natural  than  to  that  of  an  aged 
and  heart-broken  old  man,  and  who  would,  ot  course. 


THE    SCOTTISH    CAVALIERS.  123 


be  ready  to  hazard  as  much,  or  more,  in  the  cause 
of  the  Jacobites,  than  the  late  monarch  had  so  often 
promised.  In  short,  the  death  of  Louis  the  Great, 
long  the  hope  and  prop  of  the  Jacobite  cause,  was 
boldly  represented  as  a  favourable  event  during  the 
present  crisis. 

Although  a  little  dispassionate  enquiry  would 
have  dispelled  the  fantastic  hopes,  founded  on  the 
baseless  rumour  of  foreign  assistance,  yet  such  fic- 
tions as  I  have  here  alluded  to,  tending  to  exalt  the 
zeal  and  spirits  of  the  party,  were  circulated  be- 
cause they  were  believed,  and  believed  because  they 
were  circulated  ;  and  the  gentlemen  of  Stirlingshire, 
Perth,  Angus,  and  Fifeshire,  began  to  leave  their 
homes,  and  assemble  in  arms,  though  in  small  par- 
ties, at  the  foot  of  the  Grampian  hills,  expecting  the 
issue  of  Lord  Mar's  negotiations  in  the  Highlands. 

Upon  leaving  Fifeshire,  having  communicated 
with  such  gentlemen  as  were  most  likely  to  serve 
his  purpose.  Mar  proceeded  instantly  to  his  own 
estates  of  Braemar,  lying  along  the  side  of  the  river 
Dee,  and  took  up  his  residence  with  Farquharson 
of  Invercauld.  This  gentleman  was  chief  of  the 
clan  Farquharson,  and  could  command  a  very  con- 
siderable body  of  men.  But  he  was  vassal  to  Lord 
Mar  for  a  small  part  of  his  estate,  which  gave  the 
Earl  considerable  influence  with  him ;  not  how- 
ever, sufficient  to  induce  him  to  place  himself  and 
followers  in  such  hazard  as  would  have  been  occa- 
sioned by  an  instant  rising.  He  went  to  Aberdeen, 
to  avoid  importunity  on  the  subject,  having  previ- 
ously declared  to  Mar,  that  he  would  not  take 
arms  until  the  Chevalier  de  St  George  had  actual- 


124  HUNTING   OP    BRAEMAR. 

ly  landed.     At  a  later  period  he  joined  the  insur- 
gents. 

Disappointed  in  this  instance,  Mar  conceived, 
that  as  desperate  resolutions  are  usually  most  rea- 
dily adopted  in  large  assemblies,  where  men  arc 
hurried  forward  by  example,  and  prevented  from 
retreating,  or  dissenting,  by  shame,  he  should  best 
attain  his  purpose  in  a  large  convocation  of  the 
chiefs  and  men  of  rank,  who  professed  attachment 
to  the  exiled  family.  The  assembly  was  made  un- 
der pretext  of  a  grand  hunting  match,  which,  as 
maintained  in  the  Highlands,  was  an  occasion  of 
general  rendezvous  of  a  peculiar  nature.  The  lords 
attended  at  the  head  of  their  vassals,  all,  even  Low- 
land guests,  attired  in  the  Highland  garb,  and  the 
sport  was  carried  on  upon  a  scale  of  rude  magnifi- 
cence. A  circuit  of  many  miles  was  formed  around 
the  wild  desolate  forests  and  wildernesses,  which 
are  inhabited  by  the  red  deer,  and  is  called  the  tin- 
did.  Upon  a  signal  given,  the  hunters  who  com- 
pose the  tinchel  began  to  move  inwards,  closing 
the  circle,  and  driving  the  terrified  deer  before 
them,  with  whatever  else  the  forest  contains  of 
wild  animals  who  cannot  elude  the  surrounding 
sportsmen.  Being  in  this  manner  concentrated 
and  crowded  together,  they  are  driven  down  a  de- 
file, where  the  principal  hunters  lie  in  wait  for  them, 
and  show  their  dexterity,  by  marking  out  and  shoot- 
ing those  bucks  which  are  in  season.  As  it  requir- 
ed many  men  to  form  the  tinchel,  the  attendance 
of  vassals  on  these  occasions  was  strictly  insisted 
upon.  Indeed,  it  was  one  of  the  feudal  services 
required  by  the  law,  attendance  on  the  superior  at 


HUNTING    OF     BRAEMAR.  126 

hunting  being  as  regularly  required  as  at  hosting^ 
that  is,  joining  his  banner  in  war;  or  loatching  and 
warding^  garrisoning,  namely,  his  castle  in  times  of 
danger. 

An  occasion  such  as  this  was  highly  favourable; 
and  the  general  love  of  sport,  and  well-known  fame 
of  the  forest  of  Braemar  for  game  of  every  kind, 
assembled  many  of  the  men  of  rank  and  influence 
who  resided  within  reach  of  the  rendezvous,  and  a 
great  number  of  persons  besides,  who,  though  of 
less  consequence,  served  to  give  the  meeting  the 
appearance  of  numbers.  This  great  council  was 
held  about  the  26th  of  August,  and,  it  may  be 
supposed,  they  did  not  amuse  themselves  much 
with  hunting,  though  it  was  the  pretence  and 
watchword  of  their  meeting. 

:  Among  the  noblemen  of  distinction,  there  appear- 
ed in  person,  or  by  representation,  the  Marquis  of 
Huntly,  eldest  son  of  the  Duke  of  Gordon;  the 
Marquis  of  TuUiebardine,  eldest  son  of  the  Duke  of 
Athole ;  the  Earls  of  Nithsdale,  Marischat,  Tra- 
quair,  Ercol,  Southesk,  Carnwath,  and  Linlithgow; 
the  Visl^iunts  of  Kilsythe,  Kenmiur,  Kingston,  and 
Stormouht ;  the  Lords  Rollo,  Duifus,  Drummond, 
Strathallan,  Ogilvy,  and  Nairne.  Of  the  chiefs  of 
elans,  there  attended  Glengarry,  Campbell  of  Glen- 
darule,  on  the  part  of  the  powerful  Eearl  of  Bread- 
albane,  with  others  of  various  degrees  of  impor- 
tance in  the  Highlands. 

When  this  council  was  assembled,  the  Earl  of 

Mar  addressed  them  in  a  species  of  eloquence  which 

was  his  principal  accomplishment,  and  which   was 

particularly  qualified  to  succeed  with  the  high-spir- 

11^ 


126  HUNTING    OF    BRAEMAR. 


ited  and  zealous  men  by  whom  he  was  surrounded. 
He  confessed,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  that  he  had 
himself  been  but  too  instrumental  in  forwarding  the 
Union  between  England  and  Scotland,  which  had 
given  the  English  the  power,  as  they  had  the  dispo- 
sition, to  enslave  the  latter  kingdom.  He  urged 
that  the  Prince  of  Hanover  was  an  usurping  intru- 
der, governing  by  means  of  an  encroaching  and  in- 
novating faction ;  and  that  the  only  mode  to  escape 
his  tyranny  was  to  rise  boldly  in  defence  of  their 
lives  and  property,  and  to  establish  on  the  throne 
the  lawful  heir  of  these  realms.  He  declared  that 
he  himself  was  determined  to  set  up  the  standard  of 
James  HI.,  and  summoned  around  it  all  those  over 
whom  he  had  influence,  and  to  hazard  his  fortune 
and  life  in  the  cause.  He  invited  all  who  heard  him 
to  unite  in  the  same  generous  resolution.  He  was 
large  in  his  promises  of  assistance  from  France  in 
troops  and  money,  and  persisted  in  the  story  that 
two  descents  were  to  take  place,  one  in  England, 
under  the  command  of  Ormond,  the  other  in  Scot- 
land, under  that  of  the  Duke  of  Berwick.  He  also 
strongly  assured  his  hearers  of  the  certainty  of  a  gen- 
eral insurrection  in  England,  but  alleged  the  abso- 
lute necessity  of  showing  them  an  example  in  the 
north,  for  which  the  present  time  was  most  appro- 
priate, as  there  were  few  regular  troops  in  Scotland 
to  restrain  their  operations,  and  as  they  might  look 
for  assistance  to  Sweden  as  well  as  to  France. 

It  has  been  said  that  Mar,  on  this  memorable  oc- 
casion, showed  letters  from  the  Chevalier  de  St 
George,  with  a  commission  nominating  the  Earl  his 
lieutenant-general  and    commander-in-chief  of  his 


HUNTING    OF    BRAEMAR.  127 


armies  in  Scotland.  Other  accounts  say,  more  pro- 
bably, that  Mar  did  not  produce  any  other  creden- 
tials than  a  picture  of  the  Chevalier,  which  he  repeat- 
edly kissed,  in  testimony  of  zeal  for  the  cause  of  the 
original,  and  that  he  did  not  at  the  time  pretend  to 
the  supreme  command  of  the  enterprise.  This  is 
also  the  account  given  in  the  statement  of  the  trans- 
action drawn  up  by  Mar  himself,  or  under  his  eye, 
where  it  is  plainly  said,  that  it  was  nearly  a  month 
after  the  standard  was  set  up  ere  the  Earl  of  Mar 
could  procure  a  commission. 

The  number  of  persons  of  rank  who  were  assem- 
bled, the  eloquence  with  which  topics  were  publicly 
«rged  which  had  been  long  the  secret  inmates  of  ev- 
«ry  bosom,  had  their  effect  on  the  assembled  guests, 
and  every  one  felt,  that  to  oppose  the  current  of  the 
Earl's  discourse  by  remonstrance  or  objection,  would 
i>e  to  expose  himself  to  the  charge  of  cowardice,  or 
of  disaffection  to  the  common  cause.  It  was  agreed 
that  all  of  them  should  return  home,  and  raise,  un- 
der various  pretexts,  whatever  forces  they  could  in- 
dividually command  against  a  day,  fixed  for  the  3d 
of  September,  on  which  they  were  to  hold  a  second 
meeting  at  Aboyne,  in  Aberdeenshire,  in  order  to 
settle  how  they  were  to  take  the  field.  The  Mar- 
quis of  Huntly  alone  declined  to  be  bound  to  any 
limited  time ;  and  in  consequence  of  his  high  rank 
and  importance,  he  was  allowed  to  regulate  his  own 
motions  at  his  own  pleasure. 

Thus  ended  that  celebrated  hunting  in  Braemar, 
which,  as  the  old  bard  says  of  that  of  Chevy  Chace, 
might,  from  its  consequences,  be  wept  by  a  gene- 
ration which  was  yet  unborn.     There   was  a  cir- 


128  ATTEMPT    TO    SURPRISE. 

cumstance  mentioned  at  the  time,  which  tended  to 
show  that  all  men  had  forgotten  that  the  Earl  of 
Mar,  on  whose  warrant  this  rash  enterprise  was 
undertaken,  was  considered  by  some  as  rather  too 
versatile  to  be  fully  trusted.  As  the  castle  of  Brae- 
mar  was  overflowing  with  guests,  it  chanced  that, 
as  was  not  unusual  on  such  occasions,  many  of  the 
gentlemen  of  the  secondary  class  could  not  obtain 
beds,  but  were  obliged  to  spend  the  night  around 
the  kitchen  fire,  which  was  then  accounted  no  great 
grievance.  An  English  footman,  a  domestic  of 
the  Earl,  was  of  a  very  different  opinion.  Accus- 
tomed to  the  accommodations  of  the  south,  he 
came  bustling  in  among  the  gentlemen,  and  com- 
plained bitterly  of  being  obliged  to  sit  up  all  night, 
notwithstanding  he  shared  the  hardship  with  his 
betters,  saying,  that  rather  than  again  expose  him- 
self to  such  a  strait,  he  would  return  to  his  own 
country  and  turn  Whig.  However,  he  soon  com- 
forted himself  by  resolving  to  trust  to  his  master's 
dexterity  for  escaping  every  great  danger.  "  Let 
my  Lord  alone,"  he  said;  "  if  he  finds  it  necessary, 
he  can  turn  cat-in-pan  with  any  man  in  England." 

While  the  Lowland  gentlemen  were  assembling 
their  squadrons,  and  the  Highland  chiefs  levying 
their  men,  an  incident  took  place  in  the  metropolis 
of  Scotland,  which  showed  that  the  spirit  of  enter- 
prise which  animated  the  Jacobites  had  extended 
to  the  capital  itself. 

James  Lord  Drummond,  son  of  that  unfortunate 
Earl  of  Perth,  who,  having  served  James  VH.  as 
Chancellor  of  Scotland,  shared  tne  exile  of  his  still 
more   unfortunate   master,  and  been  rewarded  with 


EDINBURGH    CASTLE.  129 

the  barren  title  of  Duke  of  Perth,  was  at  present  in 
Edinburgh ;  and  by  means  of  one  Mr  Arthur,  who 
had  been  formerly  an  ensign  in  the  Scots  Guards, 
and  quartered  in  the  Castle,  had  formed  a  plan  of 
surprising  that  inaccessible  fortress,  which  resem- 
bled an  exploit  of  Thomas  Randolph,  or  the  Black 
Lord  James  of  Duglass,  rather  than  a  feat  of  mod- 
ern war.  This  Ensign  Arthur  found  means  of  se- 
ducing, by  money  and  promises,  a  sergeant  nam- 
ed Ainslie  and  two  privates,  who  engaged,  that, 
when  it  was  their  duty  to  watch  on  the  walls  which 
rise  from  the  precipice  looking  northward,  near  the 
Sally-port,  they  would  be  prepared  to  pull  up  from 
the  bottom  certain  rope-ladders  prepared  for  the 
purpose,  and  furnished  with  iron  grapplings  to 
make  them  fast  to  the  battlements.  By  means  of 
these,  it  was  concluded  that  a  select  party  of  Jaco- 
bites might  easily  scale  the  walls,  and  make  them- 
selves masters  of  the  place.  By  a  beacon  placed 
on  a  particular  part  of  the  Castle,  three  rounds  of 
artillery,  and  a  succession  of  fires  made  from  hill  to 
hill  through  Fife  and  Angus  shires,  the  signal  of 
success  was  to  be  communicated  to  the  Earl  of 
Mar,  who  was  to  hasten  forward  with  such  forces 
as  had  collected,  and  take  possession  of  the  capital 
city  and  chief  strength  of  Scotland. 

There  was  no  difficulty  in  finding  agents  in  this 
perilous  and  important  enterprise.  Fifty  High- 
landers, picked  men,  v/ere  summoned  up  from 
Lord  Drummond's  estates  in  Perthshire,  and  fifty 
more  were  selected  among  the  Jacobites  of  the 
metropolis.  These  last  were  disbanded  officers, 
writers'  clerks   and  apprentices,   and  other  youths 


130  ATTEMPT    TO    SURPRISE 

of  a  class  considerably  above  the  the  mere  vulgar 
Drummond,  otherwise  called  Mac  Gregor,  of  Ba- 
haldie,  a  Highland  gentleman  of  great  courage, 
was  named  to  command  the  enterprise.  If  suc- 
cessful, this  achievement  must  have  given  the  Earl 
of  Mar  and  his  forces  the  command  of  the  greater 
part  of  Scotland,  and  afforded  them  a  safe  and 
ready  means  of  communication  with  the  English 
malecontents,  the  want  of  which  was  afterwards  so 
severely  felt.  He  would  also  have  obtained  a  large 
supply  of  money,  arms,  and  ammunition  deposited 
in  the  fortress,  all  of  which  were  most  needful  for 
his  enterprise.  And  the  apathy  of  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Stewart,  then  Deputy-governor  of  the 
Castle,  was  so  great  that,  in  spite  of  numerous 
blunders  on  the  part  of  the  conspirators,  and  an 
absolute  revelation  on  the  subject  made  to  Govern- 
ment, the  surprise  had  very  nearly  taken  place. 
The  younger  conspirators  who  were  to  go  on  this 
forlorn  hope,  had  not  discretion  in  proportion  to 
their  courage.  Eighteen  of  them,  on  the  night  ap- 
pointed, were  engaged  drinking  in  a  tippling  house, 
and  were  so  careless  in  their  communications,  that 
the  hostess  was  able  to  tell  some  person  who  en- 
quired what  the  meeting  was  about,  that  it  consist- 
ed of  young  gentlemen  who  were  in  the  act  of  hav- 
ing their  hair  powdered,  in  order  to  go  to  the  attack 
of  the  Castle.  At  last  the  full  secret  was  intrusted 
to  a  woman.  Arthur,  their  guide,  had  communi- 
cated the  plot  to  his  brother,  a  medical  man,  and 
engaged  him  in  the  enterprise.  But  when  the  time 
for  executing  it  drew  nigh,  the  doctor's  extreme 
melancholy  was  observed  by  his  wife,  who,  like  a 


EDINBURGH     CASTLE.  '        131 


second  Belvidera  or  Portia,  suffered  hira  not  to  rest 
until  she  extorted  the  secret  from  him,  which  she 
communicated  in  an  anonymous  letter  to  Sir  Adam 
Cockburn  of  Ormiston,  then  Lord  Justice  Clerk, 
who  instantly  dispatched  the  intelligence  to  the 
Castle.  The  news  arrived  so  critically,  that  it  was 
with  difficulty  the  messenger  obtained  entrance  to 
the  Castle;  and  even  then  the  deputy-governor, 
disbelieving  the  intelligence,  or  secretly  well  affect- 
ed to  the  cause  of  the  Pretender,  contented  him- 
self with  directing  the  rounds  and  patrols  to  be 
made  with  peculiar  care,  and  retired  to  rest. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Jacobite  storming  party 
had  rendezvoused  at  the  churchyard  of  the  West 
Kirk,  and  proceeded  to  post  themselves  beneath 
the  Castle  wall.  They  had  a  part  of  their  rope  lad- 
ders in  readiness,  but  the  artificer,  one  Charles 
Porbes,  a  merchant  in  Edinburgh,  who  ought  to 
have  been  there  with  the  remainder,  which  had  been 
made  under  his  direction,  was  nowhere  to  be  seen. 
Nothing  could  be  done  during  his  absence ;  but, 
actuated  by  their  impatience,  the  party  scrambled 
tip  the  rock,  and  stationed  themselves  beneath  the 
wall,  at  the  point  where  their  accomplice  kept  sen- 
try. Here  they  found  him  ready  to  perform  his 
stipulated  part  of  the  bargain,  by  pulling  up  the 
ladder  of  ropes  which  was  designed  to  give  them 
admittance.  He  exhorted  them,  however,  to  be 
speedy,  telling  them  he  was  to  be  relieved  by  the 
patrol  at  twelve  o'clock,  and  if  the  affair  were  not 
completed  before  that  hour,  that  he  could  give 
them  no  further  assistance.  The  time  was  fast  fly 
ing,  when  Bahaldie,  the  commander  of  the  storm 


132  ATTEMPT    TO    SURPRISE 


ing   party,  persuaded  the  sentinel  to  pull  up  the 
grapnel,  and  make  it  fast  to  the  battlements,  that  it 
might  appear  whether  or  not  they  had  length  of  lad- 
der sufficient  to  make  the  attempt.     But  it  proved, 
as  indeed   they  had  expected,  more  than  a  fathom 
too  short.     At  half  past  eleven  o'clock,  the  steps 
of  the  patrol,  who  had  been  sent  their  rounds  earli- 
er than  usual,  owing  to  the   message  of  the  Lord 
Justice  Clerk,  were  heard  approaching,  on  which 
the  sentinel  exclaimed,  with  an  oath,  "  Here  come 
the  rounds  I  have  been  telling  you  of  this  half  hour ; 
you  have  ruined  both  yourself  and  me  ;  I  can  serve 
you  no  longer."     With  that  he  threw  down  the 
grappling-iron  and  ladders,  and  in  the  hope  of  cover- 
ing his  own  guilt,  fired  his  musket,  and  cried  "En- 
emy !"     Every  man  was  then  compelled  to  shift  for 
himself,  the  patrol  firing  on  them  from  the  wall. 
Twelve  soldiers  of    the  burgher  guard,  who  had 
been  directed  by  the   Lord  Justice  Clerk  to  make 
the  round  of  the  Castle  on  the  outside,  took  prison- 
ers three  youths,  who  insisted  that  they  were  found 
there  by  mere  accident,  and  an  old  man,  Captain 
Mac  Lean,    an    officer    of  James  VIL  who    was 
much  bruised  by  a  fall  from  the  rocks.     The  rest  of 
the  party  escaped  along  the  north  bank  of  the  North 
Loch,   through  the  fields  called  Barefoord's  Parks, 
on  which  the  New  Town  of  Edinburgh  now  stands. 
In  their  retreat  they  met  their  tardy  engineer,Charles 
Forbes,    loaded  with  the    ladders  which  were  so 
much  wanted  a  quarter  of  an  hour  before.     Had  it 
not  been  for  this  want  of  punctuality,  the  informa- 
tion and   precautions  of   the  Lord    Justice  Clerk 
would  have  been   insufficient  for  the  safety  of  the 


EDINBURGH    CASTLE.  133 


place.  It  does  not  appear  that  any  of  the  conspir- 
ators were  punished,  nor  would  it  have  been  easy 
to  obtain  proof  of  their  guilt.  The  treacherous  ser- 
geant was  hanged  by  sentence  of  a  court-martial, 
and  the  deputy-governor  (whose  name  of  Stewart 
might  perhaps  aggravate  the  suspicion  that  attach- 
ed to  him,)  was  deprived  of  his  office,  and  impris- 
oned for  some  time. 

It  needed  not  this  open  attack  on  the  Castle  of 
Edinburgh,  or  the  general  news  of  Lord  Mar's 
Highland  armament,  and  the  rising  of  the  disaflfect- 
ed  gentlemen  in  arms  throughout  most  of  the  coun- 
ties of  Scotland,  to  call  the  attention  of  King 
George's  Government  to  the  disturbed  state  of  that 
part  of  his  dominions.  Measures  for  defence  were 
hastily  adopted.  The  small  number  of  regular 
troops  who  were  then  in  Scotland  were  concentrat- 
ed, for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  camp  at  Stirling, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  rebels  from  seizing  the  bridge 
over  the  Forth,  and  thereby  forcing  their  way  into 
the  Low  country.  But  four  regiments,  on  the 
peace  establishment,  only  mustered  two  hundred 
and  fifty-seven  men  each ;  four  regiments  of  dra- 
goons were  considerably  under  two  hundred  to  a 
regiment — a  total  of  only  fifteen  hundred  men  at . 
the  utmost. 

To  increase  these  slender  forces,  two  regiments 
of  dragoons,  belonging  to  the  Earl  of  Stair,  with 
two  regiments  of  foot  quartered  in  the  north  of 
England,  were  ordered  to  join  the  camp  at  Stirling 
with  all  possible  dispatch.  The  foot  regiments  of 
Clayton  and  Wightman,  with  the  dragoons  of  Evans 
were    recalled  from    Ireland.      The  six  thousand 

VOL.  I.  12 


134      JACOBITES    OPPOSED    BY    GOVERNMENT 


auxiliary  forces  with  whom  the  Dutch  had  engag- 
ed, in  case  of  need,  to  guarantee  the  succession  of 
the  House  of  Hanover,  were  required  of  the  States, 
who  accordingly  ordered  the  Scotch  regiments  in 
their  service  to  march  for  the  coast,  but  excused 
themselves  from  actual  embarking  them  in  conse- 
quence of  the  French  ambassador  having  disown- 
ed, in  the  strongest  manner,  any  intent  on  the  part 
of  his  court  to  aid  the  factions  in  England  by  send- 
ing over  the  Pretender  to  Britain,  or  to  assist  those 
who  were  in  arms  in  his  behalf.  The  Dutch  alleg- 
ed this  as  a  sufficient  reason  for  suspending  the 
shipment  of  these  auxiliaries. 

Besides  these  military  measures,  the  Ministers 
of  George  I.  were  not  remiss  in  taking  such  others 
as  might  check  the  prime  cause  of  rebellions  in 
Scotland,  namely,  that  feudal  influence  possessed 
by  the  aristocracy  over  their  vassals,  tenants,  and 
dependents,  by  which  the  great  men,  when  disgrac- 
ed or  disappointed,  had  the  power  of  calling  to  arms 
at  their  pleasure,  a  number  of  individuals,  who, 
however  unwilling  they  might  be  to  rise  against  the 
Grovernment,  durst  not,  and  could  not,  without 
great  loss  and  risk  of  oppression,  oppose  themselves 
to  their  superior's  pleasure. 

On  the  30th  of  August,  therefore,  an  act  was 
passed  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging  loyalty  in 
Scotland,  a  plant  which  of  late  years  had  not  been 
found  to  agree  with  the  climate  of  that  cold  and 
northern  country,  or  at  least,  where  found  to  luxu- 
riate, it  was  of  a  nature  different  from  that  known 
by  the  same  name  at  Westminster. 

This  statute,  commonly  called  the  Clan  Act,  en- 
acted. That  if  a  feudal  superior  went  into  rebellion, 


THE    CLAN   ACT.  135 


and  became  liable  to  the  pains  of  high  treason,  all 
such  vassals  holding  lands  under  him,  as  should 
continue  in  their  allegiance,  should  in  future  hold 
these  lands  of  the  Crown.  2.  If  a  tenant  should 
have  remained  at  the  King's  peace  while  his  land- 
lord had  been  engaged  in  rebellion,  and  convicted 
of  treason,  the  space  of  two  years'  gratuitous  pos- 
session should  be  added  to  that  tenant's  lease.  3. 
If  the  superior  should  remain  loyal  and  peaceful 
while  the  vassal  should  engage  in  rebellion,  and 
incur  conviction  of  high  treason,  then  the  fief,  or 
lands  held  by  such  vassal,  shall  revert  to  the  supe- 
rior as  if  they  had  never  been  separated  from  his 
estate.  4.  Another  clause  declared  void  such  set- 
tlements of  estates  and  deeds  of  entail  as  might  be 
made  on  the  1st  day  of  August,  1714,  or  at  any 
time  thereafter,  declaring  that  they  should  be  no 
bar  to  the  forfeiture  of  the  estates  for  high  treason, 
seeing  that  such  settlements  had  been  frequently 
resorted  to  for  the  sole  purpose  of  evading  the  pun- 
ishment of  the  law. 

This  remarkable  act  was  the  first  considerable 
step  towards  unloosing  the  feudal  fetters,  by  which 
the  command  of  the  superior  became  in  some  meas- 
ure the  law  of  the  vassal.  The  clause  concerning 
settlements  and  entails  was  also  important,  and  ren- 
dered nugatory  the  attempts  which  had  been  fre- 
quently made  to  evade  the  punishment  of  forfeiture, 
by  settlements  made  previous  to  the  time  when 
those  who  granted  the  deeds  engaged  in  rebellion. 
Such  deeds  as  were  executed  for  onerous  causes, 
that  is,  for  value  of  some  kind  received,  were  justly 
excepted  from  the  operation  of  this  law. 


136  THE    CLA^    ACT. 


There  was,  moreover,  another  clause,  empower- 
ing the  Crown  to  call  upon  any  suspected  person 
or  persons  in  Scotland  to  appear  at  Edinburgh,  or 
where  it  should  be  judged  expedient,  for  the  purpose 
of  finding  bail,  with  certification  that  their  failure  to 
appear  should  subject  them  to  be  put  to  the  horn  as 
rebels,  and  that  they  should  incur  the  forfeiture  of 
the  liferent  escheat.  Immediately  afterwards,  sum- 
monses were  issued  to  all  the  noblemen  and  gen- 
tlemen either  actually  in  arms,  or  suspected  of  fa- 
vouring the  Jacobite  interest,  from  the  Earl  of  Mar 
and  his  compeers,  down  to  Rob  Roy  Mac  Gregor, 
the  celebrated  outlaw.  The  list  amounted  to  about 
fifty  men  of  note,  of  which  only  two.  Sir  Patric 
Murray,  and  Sir  Alexander  Erskine,  thought  proper 
to  surrender  themselves. 

Besides  these  general  measures,  military  resist- 
ance to  the  expected  rebellion  was  prepared  in  a 
great  many  places, and  particularly  in  borough-towns 
and  seaports.  It  is  here  to  be  remarked,  that  a 
great  change  had  taken  place  among  the  bulk  of  the 
people  of  Scotland,  from  the  ill-humour  into  which 
they  had  been  put  by  the  conclusion  of  the  Union 
treaty.  At  that  time,  such  were  the  effects  of  mor- 
tified pride,  popular  apprehension,  and  national  an- 
tipathy, that  the  populace  in  every  town  and  county 
would  have  arisen  to  place  the  Pretender  on  the 
throne,  notwithstanding  his  professing  the  Catholic 
religion,  and  being  the  grandson  of  James  VII.,  of 
whose  persecutions,  as  well  as  those  in  the  time  of 
his  predecessor,  Charles  II., the  Presbyterians  of  the 
west  nourished  such  horrible  recollections.  Accor- 
dingly, we  have  seen  that  it  was  only  by  bribing  their 


4 


PREPARATIONS    OF    GOVERNMENT.  137 


chiefs,  and  deceiving  them  by  means  of  adroit  spies 
that  the  Cameronians,  the  most  zealous  of  Presby- 
terians, who    disowned  the  authority  of  all  magis- 
trates who  had  not  taken  the  Solemn  League  and 
Covenant,  were  prevented  from  taking  arms  to  dis- 
solve the  Union  Parliament,  and  to  declare  for  the 
cause  of  James  III.     But   it  happened  with  the 
Union,   as  with  other  political    measures,  against 
which  strong  prejudices  have  been  excited  during 
their  progress  : — the  complication  of  predicted  evils 
were  so  far  from  being  realized,  that  the  opponents 
of  the  treaty  began  to  be  ashamed  of  having  enter- 
tained such  apprehensions.     None  of  the  violent 
changes  which  had  been  foretold,  none  of  the  uni- 
versal disgrace  and  desolation  which  had  been  antic- 
ipated in  consequence,  had  arisen  from  that  great 
measure.     The  enforcing  of  the  Malt  Tax  was  the 
most  unpopular,  and  that  impost  had  been  for  the 
time  politically  suspended.     The  shopkeepers   of 
Edinburgh,  who  had  supplied  the  peers  of  Scotland 
with  luxuries,  had  found  other  customers,  now  that 
the  aristocracy  were  resident  in  London,  or  they  had 
turned  their  stock  into  other  lines  of  commerce.  The 
ideal  consequence  of  a  legislature  of  their  own  hold- 
ing its  sittings  in  the  metropolis  of  Scotland,  was 
forgotten  when  it  became  no  longer  visible,  and  the 
abolition  of  the  Scottish  Privy  Council  might,  on 
calm  reflection,  be  considered  as  a  national  benefit 
rather  than  a  privation.     In  short,  the  general  re- 
sentment excited  by  the  treaty  of  Union,  once  keen 
enough  to  suspend  all  other  motives,  was  a  paroxysm 
too  violent  to  last — men  recovered  from  it  by  slow 
degrees,  and  though  it  was  still  predominant  in  the 
12* 


138  PREPARATIONS    OF    GOVERISMEM 


minds  of  some  classes,  yet  the  opinions  of  the  low- 
er orders  in  general  had  in  a  great  measure  returned 
to  their  usual  channel,  and  men  entertained  in  the 
south  and  west,  as  well  as  in  many  of  the  boroughs, 
theirusual  wholesome  horror  for  the  Devil,  the  Pope, 
and  the  Pretender,  which,  for  a  certain  time  had 
been  overpowered  and  lost  in  their  apprehensions 
for  the  independence  of  Scotland. 

In  1715,  also,  the  merchants  and  better  class  of 
citizens,  who  began  to  entertain  some  distant  views 
of  enriching  themselves  by  engaging  in  the  com- 
merce of  the  plantations,  and  other  lucrative  branch- 
es of  trade,  opened  up  by  the  Union,  were  no  lon- 
ger disposed  to  see  any  thing  tempting  in  the  pro- 
posal of  jNIar  and  his  insurgents,  to  destroy  the  trea- 
ty by  force ;  and  were,  together  with  the  lower 
classes,  much  better  disposed  to  listen  to  the  ex- 
postulations of  the  presbyterian  clergy,  who,  sensi- 
ble of  what  they  had  to  expect  from  a  counter-revo- 
lution, exerted  their  influence,  generally  speaking 
with  great  effect,  in  support  of  the  present  govern- 
ment of  King  George.  The  fruits  of  this  change  in 
the  temper  and  feelings  of  the  middling  and  lower 
classes,  were  soon  evident  in  the  metropolis  and 
throughout  Scotland.  In  Edinburgh,  men  of  wealth 
and  substance  subscribed  a  bond  of  association,  in 
order  to  raise  subscriptions  for  purchasing  arms  and 
maintaining  troops  ;  and  a  body  of  the  subscribers 
themselves  formed  a  regiment,  under  the  name  of 
the  Associate  Volunteers  of  Edinburgh.  They  were 
four  hundred  strong.  Glasgow,  with  a  prescient 
consciousness  of  the  commercial  eminence  which 
vshe  was  to  attain  bv  means  of  the  treaty  of  Union, 


TO    OPPOSE    THE    JACOBITES.  139 


contributed  liberally  in  meney  to  defend  the  cause 
of  King  George,  and  raised  a  good  regiment  of  vol- 
unteers. The  western  counties  of  Renfrew  and 
Ayrshire  offered  four  thousand  men,  and  the  Earl 
of  Glasgow  a  regiment  of  a  thousand  at  his  own 
charge.  Along  the  Border,  the  Whig  party  were 
no  less  active.  Dumfries  distinguished  itself,  by 
aising  among  the  inhabitants  seven  volunteer  com- 
panies of  sixty  men  each.  This  was  the  more  ne- 
cessary, as  an  attack  was  apprehended  from  the 
many  Catholics  and  disaffected  gentlemen  who  re- 
side in  the  neighbourhood.  The  eastern  part  of 
Teviotdale  supplied  the  Duke  of  Roxburgh,  Sir  Wil- 
liam Bennet  of  Grubet,  and  Sir  John  Pringle  of 
Stitchel,  with  as  many  men  as  they  could  find  arms 
for,  being  about  four  companies.  The  upper  part 
of  the  country,  and  the  neighbouring  shire  of  Selkirk 
were  less  willing  to  take  arms.  The  hatred  of  the 
Union  still  prevailed  amongst  them  more  than  else- 
where, inflamed,  probably,  by  the  very  circumstance 
of  their  vicinity  to  England,  and  the  recollection  of 
the  long  wars  betwixt  the  kingdoms.  The  Camer- 
onian  preachers,  also,  had  possessed  many  specula- 
tive shepherds  with  their  whimsical  and  chimerical 
doubts  concerning  the  right  of  uncovenanted  magis- 
trates to  exercise  an  authority  even  in  the  most  ur- 
gent case  of  national  emergency.  This  doctrine 
was  as  rational  as  if  the  same  scrupulous  persons 
had  discovered  that  it  was  unlawful  to  use  the  assis- 
tance of  firemen  during  a  conflagration,  because 
they  had  not  taken  the  Solemn  League  and  Cove- 
nant. These  scruples  were  not  universal,  and  assum- 
ed as  many    different    hues    and    shades  as  tliere 


140  PREPARATIONS    OF    WAR. 


were  popular  preachers  to  urge  them ;  they  tended 
greatly  to  retard  and  embarrass  the  exertions  ot 
government  to  prepare  for  defence  in  these  districts. 
Even  the  popularity  of  the  Reverend  Thomas  Bos- 
ton, an  eminent  divine  of  the  period,  could  not 
raise  a  man  for  the  serv^ice  of  government  out  of  his 
parish  of  Ettrick. 

Notwithstanding,  however,  partial  exceptions, 
the  common  people  of  Scotland,  who  were  not 
overawed  by  Jacobite  landlords,  remained  general- 
ly faithful  to  the  Protestant  line  of  succession,  and 
showed  readiness  to  arm  in  its  behalf. 

Having  thus  described  the  preparations  for  war, 
on  both  sides,  we  will,  in  the  next  Chapter,  relate 
the  commencement  of  the  campaign. 


[  141   ] 


CHAP.  VII. 

Raising  of  the  Standard  for  the  Chevalier  de  St  George,  and  Pro- 
clamation of  him  as  James  VIII.  of  Scotland,  and  III.  of  En- 
gland and  Ireland — Capture  of  Perth  by  the  Jacobites— Charac- 
ter of  Mar's  Army — Incapacity  of  Mar  as  a  General ---Plan  of 
an  Expedition  into  the  Low  Country. 

On  the  6th  September  1715,  the  noblemen,chiefs 
of  clans,  gentlemen,  and  others,  with  such  followers 
as  they  could  immediately  get  in  readiness,  assem- 
bled at  Aboyne ;  and  the  Earl  of  Mar,  acting  as 
General  on  the  occasion,  displayed  the  royal  stand- 
ard, at  Castleton,  in  Braemar ;  and  proclaimed, 
with  such  solemnity  as  the  time  and  place  admitted^ 
James  King  of  Scotland,  by  the  title  of  James 
VIII.  and  King  of  England,  Ireland,  and  their  de- 
pendencies, by  that  of  James  III.  The  day  was 
stormy ;  and  the  gilded  ball  which  was  on  the  top 
of  the  standard  spear  was  blown  down, — a  circum- 
stance which  the  superstitious  Highlanders  regard- 
ed as  ominous  of  ill  fortune;  while  others  called  to 
mind,  that  by  a  strange  coincidence,  something  of 
the  same  kind  happened  in  the  evil  hour  when  King 
Charles  set  up  his  standard  at  Nottingham. 

After  this  decisive  measure,  the  leaders  of  the 
insurgents  separated  to  proclaim  King  James  in 
the  towns  where  they  had  influence,  and  to  raise 
as  many  followers  as  each  could  possibly  command, 
in  order  to  support  the  daring  defiance  which  they 
had  given  to  the  established  government. 


142  JACOBITE    LEVIES. 

It  was  not  by  the  mildest  of  all  possible  means 
that  a  Highland  following,  as  it  is  called,  was 
brought  into  the  field  at  that  period.  Many  vas- 
sals were,  indeed,  prompt  and  ready  for  service,  for 
which  their  education  and  habits  prepared  them. 
But  there  were  others  who  were  brought  to  their 
chiePs  standard  by  much  the  same  enticing  mode  of 
solicitation  used  in  our  own  day  for  recruiting  the 
navy,  and  there  were  many  who  conceived  it  pru- 
dent not  to  stir  without  such  a  degree  of  compulsion 
as  might,  in  case  of  need,  serve  as  some  sort  of 
apology  for  having  been  in  arms  at  all.  On  this 
raising  the  clans  in  the  year  1715,  the  fiery  cross 
was  sent  through  the  districts  or  countries,  as  they 
are  termed,  inhabited  by  the  different  tribes.  This 
emblem  consisted  of  tw^o  branches  of  wood,  in  the 
form  of  a  cross,  one  end  singed  with  fire,  and  the 
other  stained  with  blood.  The  inhabitants  trans- 
mitted the  signal  from  house  to  house  with  all  pos- 
sible speed,  and  the  symbol  implied,  that  those 
who  should  not  appear  at  a  rendezvous  which  was 
named  when  the  cross  was  presented,  should  suffer 
the  extremeties  of  fire  and  sword.  There  is  an  in- 
tercepted letter  of  Mar  himself,  to  John  Forbes  of 
Increrau,  bailie  of  his  lordship  of  Kildrummie, 
which  throws  considerable  light  on  the  nature  of  a 
feudal  levy  : — 

"  You  w^ere  right,  Jackie,"  said  the  lord  to  his 
oflicial,  not  to  come  with  the  hundred  men  you 
sent  up  last  night,  when  I  expected  four  times  their 
numbers.  It  is  a  pretty  thing  my  own  people  should 
be  refractory,  when  all  the  Highlands  are  rising, 
and  all  the  Lowlands  are  expecting  us  to  join  them. 


IN    THE    HIGHLANDS.  143 

I  send  you  enclosed  an  order  for  the  Lordship  ot 
Kildrummie,  which  you  will  immediately  intimate 
to  all  my  vassals.  If  they  give  ready  obedience, 
it  will  make  some  amends,  and  if  not,  ye  may  tell 
them  from  me,  that  it  will  not  be  in  my  power  to 
save  them  (were  I  willing)  from  being  treated  as 
enemies  by  those  that  are  soon  to  join  me  ;  and 
they  may  depend  upon  it  that  I  will  be  the  first  to 
propose  and  order  their  being  so.  Particularly,  let 
my  own  tenants  in  Kildrummie  know,  that  if  they 
come  not  forth  with  their  best  arms,  I  will  send  a 
party  immediately  to  bum  what  they  shall  miss  tak- 
ing from  them.  And  they  may  believe  this  only  a 
threat, — but  by  all  that's  sacred,  I'll  put  it  in  exe- 
cution, let  my  loss  be  what  it  will,  that  it  may  be  an 
example  to  others.  You  are  to  tell  the  gentlemen 
that  I  expect  them  in  their  best  accoutrements  on 
horseback,  and  no  excuse  to  be  accepted  of." 

This  remarkable  letter  is  dated  three  days  after 
the  displaying  of  the  standard.  The  system  of  so- 
cial life  in  the  Highlands,  has,  when  viewed  through 
the  vista  of  years,  much  in  it  that  is  interesting  and 
poetical ;  but  few  modern  readers  will  desire  to  ex- 
change conditions  with  a  resident  within  the  roman- 
tic bounds  of  Mar's  Lordship  of  Kildrummie,  where 
such  were  liable  to  a  peremptory  summons  to  arms ; 
thus  rudely  enforced. 

Proceeding  towards  the  Lowlands  by  short  march- 
es. Mar  paused  at  the  small  town  of  Kirkmichael, 
and  afterwards  at  Mouline  in  Perthshire,  moving 
slowly  that  his  friends  might  have  leisure  to  assem- 
ble for  his  support.  In  the  mean  time  King  James 
was  proclaimed  at  Aberdeen  by  the  Earl  Marischal, 


144  PROCLAMATION  OF   JAMES. 


at  Dunkeld  by  the  Marquis  of  Tullibardine,  contra- 
ry to  the  wishes  of  his  father,  the  Duke  of  Athole, 
at  Castle  Gordon  by  the  Marquis  of  Huntly,  at  Bre- 
chin by  the  Earl  of  Panmure,  a  rich  and  powerful 
nobleman,  who  had  acceeded  to  the  cause  since  the 
rendezvous  at  the  Braemar  hunting.  The  same  cer- 
emony was  performed  at  Montrose  by  the  Earl  of 
Southesk,  at  Dundee  by  Graham  of  Duntroon,  of 
the  family  of  the  celebrated  Claverhouse,  and  to 
whom  King  James  had  given  that  memorable  per- 
son's title  of  Viscount  of  Dundee,  and  at  Inverness 
by  theLairdof  Borlum,  commonly  called  Brigadier 
Mac  Intosh,  from  his  having  held  that  rank  in  the 
service  of  France.  This  officer  made  a  considera- 
ble figure  during  the  rebellion,  in  which  he  had  in- 
fluence to  involve  his  chief  and  clan,  rather  contra- 
ry to  the  political  sentiments  of  the  former ;  he 
judged  that  Inverness  was  a  station  of  importance, 
and  therefore  left  a  garrison  to  secure  it  from  any 
attack  on  the  part  of  the  Grants,  Monroes,  or  other 
Whig  clans  in  the  vicinity. 

The  possession  of  the  town  of  Perth  now  became 
a  point  of  great  importance,  as  forming  the  commu- 
nication between  the  Highlands  and  the  Lowlands, 
and  being  the  natural  capital  of  the  fertile  countries 
on  the  margin  of  the  Tay.  The  citizens  were  di 
vided  into  two  parties,  but  the  magistrates,  who,  at 
the  head  of  one  part  of  the  inhabitants,  had  declar- 
ed for  King  George,  took  arms  and  applied  to  the 
Duke  of  Athole,  who  remained  in  allegiance  to  the 
ruling  monarch,  for  a  party  to  support  them.  The 
Duke  sent  them  three  or  four  hundred  Athole  High 
landers,  and  the  inhabitants  conceived  themselves 


I 


CAPTURE  OF  PERTH  BY  THE  JACOBITES.   145 


secure,  especially  as  the  Earl  of  Rothes,  having  as- 
sembled about  four  hundred  militia  men,  was  ad- 
vancing from  Fife  to  their  support.  The  honourable 
Colonel  John  Haj,  brother  to  the  Earl  of  Kinnoul, 
took,  however,  an  opportunity  to  collect  together 
some  fifty  or  a  hundred  horse  from  the  gentlemen 
of  Stirling,  Perthshire,  and  Fife,  and  marched  to- 
wards the  town.  The  Tory  burghers,  who  were  not 
inferior  in  numbers,  began  to  assume  courage  as 
these  succours  appeared,  and  the  garrison  of  High- 
landers knowiug  that  although  the  Duke  of  Athole 
remained  attached  to  the  government,  his  eldest  son 
was  in  the  Earl  of  Mar's  army,  gave  way  to  their 
own  inclinations,  which  were  decidedly  Jacobitical, 
and  joined  Colonel  Hay,  for  the  purpose  of  disarm- 
ing the  Whig  biifghers,  to  whose  assistance  they  had 
been  sent.  Thus  Perth,  by  a  concurrence  of  acci- 
dents, fell  into  the  hands  of  the  insurgent  Jacobites, 
and  gave  them  the  cpmmand  of  all  the  Lowlands  in 
the  east  part  of  Scotland.  Still,  as  the  town  was 
bat  slightly  fortified,  it  might  have  been  recovered 
by  a  sudden  attack,if  a  detachment  had  been  made  for 
that  porpose,  from  the  regular  camp  at  Stirling.  But 
General  Whetham,  who  as  yet  commanded  there, 
was  not  an 'officer  of  activity.  He  was  indeed  su- 
perseded in  his  command  by  the  Duke  of  Argyle, 
commander-in-chief  in  Scotland,  who  came  to  Stir- 
ling on  the  14th  September ;  but  the  opportunity  of 
regaining  Perth  no  longer  existed.  The  town  had 
been  speedily  reinforced,  and  secured  for  the  Jaco- 
bites interest,  by  about  two  hundred  men,  whom  the 
Earl  of  Strathmore  had  raised  to  join  the  Earl  of 
Mar,  and  a  body  of  Fifeshire  cavalry  who  had  array- 
VOL.  I.  13 


146  EARL    OF    STRATHMORE. 


ed  themselves  for  the  same  sen^ice  under  the  Mas- 
ter of  Sinclair.  Both  these  noblemen  were  remark- 
*ble  characters. 

The  Earl  of  Strathmore,  doomed  to  lobse  his  life 
in  this  fatal  broil,  \vas  only  about  eighteen  years 
old,  but  at  that  early  age  he  exhibited  every  symp- 
tom of  a  brave,  generous,  and  modest  disposi- 
tion, and  his  premature  death  disappointed  the 
most  flourishing  hopes.  He  engaged  in  the  Re- 
bellTon  with  all  the  zeal  of  sincerity,  raised  a  strong 
regiment  of  Lowland  infantry,  and  distinguished 
himself  by  his  attention  to  the  duties  of  a  military 
life. 

The  Master  of  Sinclair,  c^  called  because  the 
eldest  son  of  Henry  seveniii  Lord  Sinclair,  had 
served  in  Marlborough's  army  ^h  good  reputa- 
tion ;  but  he  was  especially  remarkable  for  having, 
in  the  prosecution  of  an  affair  of  honour,  slain  two 
gentlemen  of  the  name  of  Shaw,  brothers  to  Sir 
John  Shaw  of  Greenock,  and  persons  of  rank  and 
consequence.  He  was  tried  by  a  court-martial,  and 
condemned  to  death,  but  escaped  from  prison,  not 
without  the  connivance  of  the  Duke  of  Marlbo- 
rough himself.  As  the  Master  of  Sinclair's  family 
were  Tories,  he  obtained  his  pardon  on  the  acces- 
sion of  their  party  to  power  in  1712.  In  1715,  he 
seems  to  have  taken  arms  with  great  reluctance, 
deeming  the  cause  desperate,  and  having  no  con- 
fidence in  the  probity  or  parts  of  the  Earl  of  Mar, 
who  assumed  the  supreme  authority.  He  was  a 
man  of  a  caustic  and  severe  turn  of  mind,  suspi- 
cious and  satirical,  but  acute  and  sensible.  He  has 
left  Memoirs  behind  him,  curiously  illustrative  of 


CHARACTER    OF    xMAR's    ARMY.  14T 


the  ill-fated  enterprise  in  which  he  was  engaged, 
and  of  which  he  seems  totally  to  have  despaired 
long  before  its  final  termination. 

That  part  of  the  Earl  of  Mar's  forces  which 
lay  in  the  eastern  and  north-eastern  parts  of  Scot- 
land, were  now  assembled  at  Perth,  the  most  cen- 
tral place  under  his  authority.  They  amounted  to 
four  or  five  thousand  men,  and  although  formida- 
ble for  courage  and  numbers,  they  had  few  other 
qualities  necessary  to  constitute  an  army.  They 
wanted  a  competent  general,  money,  arms,  and  am- 
munition, regulation  and  discipline  ;  above  all,  a 
settled  purpose  and  object  of  the  campaign.  On 
each  of  these  deficiencies,  and  on  the  manner  and 
degree  in  which  they  were  severally  supplied,  I 
will  say  a  few  words,  so  as  to  give  you  some  idea 
of  this  tumultuary  army,  before  proceeding  to  de- 
tail what  they  did,  and  what  they  left  undone. 

There  can  be  no  doubt,  that  from  the  time  he  em- 
barked in  this  dangerous  enterprise.  Mar  had  se- 
cretly determined  to  put  himself  at  the  head  of  it, 
and  gratify  at  once  his  ambition  and  his  revenge. 
But  it  does  not  appear  that  at  first  he  made  any 
pretension  to  the  chief -command.  On  the  contrary, 
he  seemed  willing  to  defer  to  any  person  of  higher 
rank  than  his  own.  The  Duke  of  Gordon  would 
have  been  a  natural  choice,  from  his  elevated  rank 
and  great  power.  But,  besides  that  he  had  not 
come  out  in  person,  though  it  was  not  doubted  that 
he  approved  of  his  son's  doing  so,  the  Duke  was  a 
Catholic,  and  it  was  not  considered  politic  that  Pa- 
pists should  hold  any  considerable  rank  in  the  en- 
terprise, as  ic  would  have  given  rise  to  doubts 
amonpc  their  o^vn   party,  and  reproaches  from   thei' 


148  CHARACTER   OF    MAR'S   ARMI. 


opponents.  Finally,  the  Duke,  being  one  of  the 
suspected  persons  summoned  by  government  to 
surrender  himself,  obeyed  the  call,  and  was  appoint- 
ed to  reside  at  Edinburgh  on  his  parole.  The 
Duke  of  Athole  had  been  a  leader  of  the  Jaco- 
bites during  the  disputes  concerning  the  Union, 
and  had  agreed  to  rise  had  the  French  descent 
taken  place  in  1707.  Upon  him,  it  is  said,  the 
Earl  of  Mar  offered  to  devolve  the  command  of 
the  forces  he  had  levied.  But  the  Duke  refu- 
sed the  offer  at  his  hands.  He  said,  that  if  the 
Chevalier  de  St  George  had  chosen  to  impose  such 
a  responsible  charge  upon  him,  he  would  have  op- 
ened a  direct  communication  with  him  personally ; 
and  he  complained  that  Mar,  before  making  this 
proposal  to  him,  had  intrigued  in  his  family  ;  hav- 
ing instigated  his  two  sons,  the  Marquis  of  Tulli- 
bardiue  and  Lord  Churles  Murray,  as  well  as  his 
Uncle  Lord  Naime,  to  take  arms  without  his 
consent,  and  made  use  of  them  to  seduce  the 
Athole  men  from  their  allegiance  to  their  rightful 
lord.  He  therefore  declined  the  offer  which  was 
made  to  him  of  commanding  the  forces  now  in  re- 
bellion, and  Mar  retained,  as  if  by  occupancy,  the 
chief  command  of  the  army.  As  he  was  brave, 
high-born,  and  possessed  of  very  considerable  tal- 
ent, and  as  his  late  connexion  with  the  chiefs  of  the 
Highland  clans,  while  distributor  of  Queen  Anne's 
bounty,  rendered  him  highly  acceptable  to  them, 
his  authority  was  generally  submitted  to,  especially 
as  it  was  at  first  supposed  that  he  acted  only  as  a 
locum  tenen?  for  the  Duke  of  Berwick,  whose  spee- 
dy arrival  had  been  announced.  Time  passed  on, 
however,  the  Duke  came  not,  and  the  Earl  of  Mar 


I 


CHARACTER    OF    MAR's    ARMY.  149 


continued  to  act  as  commander-in-chief,  until  con- 
firmed in  it,  as  we  shall  learn,  by  an  express  com- 
mission from  the  Chevalier  de  St  George.  As 
the  Earl  was  unacquainted  with  military  affairs,  he 
used  the  experience  of  Lieut ^lant-General  Hamil- 
ton and  Clephane  of  Cars.  -,  who  had  served 
during  the  late  war,  to  sup;,.  '3  deficiencies  in 
that  department.    But  though  j  gentlemen  had 

both  courage,  zeal,  and  warliki;  skill,  they  could 
not  assist  their  principal  in  what  his  own  capacity 
could  not  attain  to — the  powerof  forming  and  act- 
ing upon  a  decided  plan  of  tactics. 

Money  was  also  much  wanted,  and  was  but  poor- 
ly supplied  by  such  sums  as  the  wealthier  adherents 
of  the  party  could  raise  among  themselves.  Some 
of  the  gentlemen  had  indeed  means  of  their  own, 
but  as  their  funds  became  exhausted,  they  were 
under  the  necessity  of  returning  home  for  more ; 
which  was  with  some  the  apology  for  absence  from 
their  corps  much  longer  and  more  frequently  than 
was  consistent  with  discipline.  But  the  Highland- 
ers and  Lowlanders  of  inferior  rank,  could  not  sub- 
sist, or  be  kept  within  the  bounds  of  discipline,  with- 
out regular  pay  of  some  kind.  Lord  Southesk 
gave  five  hundred  pounds,  and  the  Earl  of  Pan- 
mure  the  same  sum,  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the 
moment.  Aid  was  also  solicited  and  obtained  from 
various  individuals,  friendly  to  the  cause,  but  un- 
equal, from  age  or  infirmity,  to  take  the  field  in 
person ;  and  there  were  many  prudent  persons,  no 
doubt,  who  thought  it  the  wisest  course  to  sacrifice 
a  sum  of  money,  which,  if  the  insurrection  were 
successful,  would  give  them  the  merit  of  having 
13* 


150  CHARACTER   OF    MAR's    ARMV. 

aided  it,  while,  if  it  failed,  their  lives  and  estates 
were  secured  from  the  reach  of  the  law  against 
treason.  Above  all,  the  insurgents  took  especial 
care  to  secure  all  the  public  money  that  was  in  the 
hands  of  collectors  of  taxes,  and  otlier  public  offi- 
cers, and  to  levy  eight  months  cess  wherever  their 
presence  gave  them  the  authority.  At  length,  con- 
siderable supplies  of  money  were  received  from 
France,  which  in  a  great  measure  relieved  their 
wants  in  that  particular.  Lord  Drummond  was  ap- 
pointed to  be  treasurer  to  the  army. 

Arms  and  ammunition  were  scarce  amongst  the 
insurgents.  The  Highland  clans  were,  indeed, 
tolerably  armed  with  their  national  weapons ;  but 
the  guns  of  the  Lowlanders  were  in  wretched  order, 
and  in  a  great  measure  unfit  for  service.  The  suc- 
cess of  an  expedition  in  some  degree  remedied  this 
important  deficiency. 

Among  other  northern  chiefs  who  remained  faith- 
ful to  George  I.,  amidst  the  general  defection,  was 
the  powerful  Earl  of  Southerland,  who,  on  the  news 
of  the  insurrection,  had  immediately  proceeded  by 
sea  to  his  Castle  of  Dunrobin,  to  collect  his  vas- 
sals. In  order  that  they  might  be  supplied  with 
arms,  a  vessel  at  Leith  was  loaded  with  firelocks, 
and  other  weapons,  and  sailed  for  the  EarPs  coun- 
try. The  wind,  however,  proving  contrary,  the 
master  of  the  ship  dropped  anchor  at  Burnt-island, 
on  the  Fife  shore  of  the  Frith  of  Forth,  of  which  he 
was  a  native,  that  he  might  have  an  opportunity  to 
see  his  wife  and  children  before  his  departure. 

The  Master  of  Sinclair,  formerly  mentioned, 
whose  family  estate  and  interest  lav  on  the  shore? 


CHARACTER    OF    MAR^S    ARMY.  161 

of  the  Frithj  got  information  of  this  circumstance, 
and  suggested  a  scheme  of  seizing  on  these  arms, 
which  argued  talent  and  activity,  and  was  the  first 
symptom  which  the  insurgents  had  given  of  either 
one  or  other.     The  Master  of   Sinclair,  with  about 
fourscore  troopers,  and  carrying  with  him  a  number 
of  baggage-horses,  left  Perth  about  nightfall,  and, 
to   baffle   observation,   took   a   circuitous   road  to 
Burntisland.     He  arrived  in  the  little  seaport  with 
all  the  effects  of  a  complete   surprise,  and  though 
the  bark   had  hauled  out  of  the  harbour  into  the 
roadstead,  he  boarded  her  by  means  of  boats,  pos- 
sessing himself  of  all  the  arms,  which  amounted  to 
three   hundred.     Mar,  as   had  been  agreed   upon, 
protected  the  return  of  the  detachment  by  advanc- 
ing a  body  of  five    hundred  Highlanders,  as  far  as 
Auchtertoole,  half-way  between  Perth  and  Burntis- 
land.    On  this  occasion,  the  Master  of  Sinclair,  an 
old  officer,  and  acquainted  with  the  usual  discipline 
of  war,  was  greatly  annoyed  by  the  disorderly  con- 
duct of  the  volunteer  forces  whom  he  commanded. 
He  could  not  prevail  on  the  gentlemen  of  his  squad- 
ron to  keep  watch  with   any  vigilance,  nor  prevent 
them  from  crowding  into  ale-houses  to  drink.     In 
returning  homeward,  several  of  them  broke  off  with- 
out leave,  either  to  visit  their  own  houses  which 
were  near  the  road,  or  to  indulge  themselves  in  the 
pleasure  of  teazing  the  Presbyterian  ministers  who 
lay  in  their  way.     When  he  came  to  Auchtertoole, 
the  disorder  was  yet  greater.     The  Highland  de- 
tachment, many  of  them  Mar's  own  men  from  Dee- 
side,  had  broken  their  ranks,  and  were  dispersed 
over  the  country,  pillaging  the  farm-houses ;  whe 


152  CHARACTER    OF  "maR's    ARMY. 


Sinclair  got  a  Highland  officer  to  command  them 
to  desist  and  return,  they  refused  to  obey,  nor  was 
there  any  means  of  bringing  them  off,  save  by  spread- 
ing a  report  that  the  enemy's  dragoons  were  ap- 
proaching, on  which  they  drew  together  with  won- 
derful celerity,  and  submitted  to  be  led  back  to 
Perth  vvith  the  anns  that  had  been  seized,  which 
went  some  length  to  remedy  the  scarcity  of  that 
most  important  article  in  the  insurgent  army. 

A  greater  deficiency  even  than  that  of  arms,  was 
the  want  of  a  general  capable  to  form  the  plan  of  a 
campaign,  suitable  to  his  situation  and  the  charac- 
ter of  his  troops,  and  then  to  carry  it  into  effect 
with  firmness,  celerity,  and  decision.  Generals 
Hamilton  and  Gordon,  both  in  Mar's  army,  were 
men  of  some  military  experience,  but  totally  void 
of  that  comprehensive  genius  which  combines  and 
executes  the  manoeuvres  of  a  campaign ;  and  Mar 
himself,  as  already  intimated,  seems  to  have  been 
unacquainted  even  with  the  mere  mechanical  part 
of  the  profession.  He  appears  to  have  thought 
that  the  principal  part  of  his  work  was  done  when 
the  insurrection  was  set  on  foot,  and  that  being  once 
effected,  that  it  would  carry  itself  on,  and  the  rebels 
would  increase  in  such  numbers,  that  resistance  to 
them  must  become  impossible.  'The  greater  part 
of  the  Jacobites  in  East  Lothian  were,  he  knew, 
ready  to  take  horse ;  so  were  those  of  the  coun- 
tries of  Dumfries  and  Lanark  ;  but  they  were  sep- 
arated from  his  army  by  the  Frith  of  Forth,  and 
were  likely  to  require  assistance  from  him,  in  order 
to  secure  protection  when  they  assembled  their 
followers.       Montrose,  or  Dundee,  with  half  the 


PROPOSED  EXPEDITION   INTO  LOTHIAN.     153 

men  whom  Mar  had  already  under  him,  would  have 
marched  without  hesitation  towards  Stirling,  and 
compelled  the  Duke  of  Argyle,  who  had  not  as  yet 
quite  two  thousand  men,  either  to  fight  or  retreat, 
which  must  have  opened  the  Lowlands  and  the 
Borders  to  the  opperations  of  the  insurgents.  But 
such  was  the  reputation  of  the  Duke,  that  Mar  re- 
solved not  to  encounter  him  until  he  should  have 
received  .all  the  reinforcements  from  the  north  and 
west  which  he  could  possibly  expect,  in  the  hope, 
by  assembling  an  immense  superiority  of  force,  to 
counterbalance  the  acknowledged  military  skill  of 
his  distinguished  opponent. 

As  however,  it  was  essential  to  the  Earl  of  Mar's 
purpose,  to  spread  the  flame  of  insurrection  into  the 
Lowlands,  he  determined  not  to  allow  the  check 
which  Argyle's  forces  and  position  placed  on  his 
movements,  to  prevent  his  attempting  a  diversion 
by  passing  at  all  hazards  a  considerable  detachment 
of  his  army  into  Lothian,  to  support  and  encourage 
his  Jacobite  friends  on  the  opposite  side.  His  pro- 
posal was  to  collect  small  vessels  and  boats  on  the 
Fife  side  of  the  Frith,  and  dispatch  them  across  with 
a  division  of  his  army,  who  v»'ere  to  land  on  such 
part  of  the  coast  of  East  Lothian  as  the  wind  should 
render  most  convenient,  and  unite  themselves  with 
the  malecontents  wherever  they  might  find  them  in 
strength.  But  ere  noticing  the  fate  of  this  expedi- 
tion, we  must  leave  Mar  and  his  army,  to  trace  the 
progress  of  the  insurrection  in  the  south  of  Scotland 
and  the  north  of  England,  where  it  had  already 
broken  out. 


[  154 


CHAP.  VIII. 

Progress  of  Insurrection  in  the  South  of  Scotland— Caljvstrophe  in 
the  Family  of  Hepburn  of  Keith— Rising  of  the  Jacobites  of  the 
Western  Frontier,  under  Kenmiire,  and  of  those  of  the  North  of 
England,  unrter  Forster's— Junction  of  Kenmure's  Party  with 
that  of  Forster — Reinforcements  join  ]Mar  at  Perth,  his"  head- 
quarters—Delay  in  the  Rising  of  the  Western  Clans — Procrasti- 
nation of  3Iar — Descent  of  Mac  Intosh  upon  Lothian — Junction 
oflMac  Intosh  with  Kenmure  and  Forster  at  Kelso —They  hold  a 
Council,  to  decide  on  their  plan  of  Operations. 

The  reports  of  inrasion  from  France — of  King 
James's  landing  with  a  foreign  force,  abundance  of 
arms,  ammunition,  and  treasure,  and  the  full  purpose 
to  reward  his  friends  and  chastise  his  enemies — the 
same  exaggerated  intelligence  from  England,  con- 
cerning general  discontent  and  local  insurrection, 
w4iich  had  raised  the  north  of  Scotland  in  arms — 
had  their  effect  also  on  the  gentlemen  of  Jacobite 
principles  in  the  south  of  that  country,  and  in  the 
contiguous  frontiers  of  England,  where  a  number 
of  Catholic  families,  and  others  devoted  to  the  exil- 
ed family,  v/ere  still  to  be  found.  Ere  the  hopes  in- 
spired by  such  favourable  rumours  had  passed 
away,  came  the  more  veracious  intelligence,  that 
the  Earl  of  ^lar  had  set  up  James's  standard  in  the 
Highlands,  and  presently  after,  that  he  had  taken 
possession  of  Perth — that  many  noblemen  of  dis- 
tinguished rank  and  interest  had  joined  his  camp, 
and  that  his  numbers  were  still  increasing. 

These  reports  gave  a  natural  impulse  to  the  zeal 
of    men,  who,  having    long  professed  thenaselves 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  INSURRECTION    155 

the  liege  subjects  af  the  Stewart  family,  were 
ashamed  to  sit  still  when  a  gallant  effort  was  made 
to  effect  their  restoration,  by  what  was  reported  to 
be,  and  in  very  truth  was,  a  very  strong  party,  and 
an  army  much  larger  than  those  commanded  by 
Montrose  or  Dundee,  and  composed  chiefly  of  the 
same  description  of  troops  at  the  head  of  whom 
they  had  gained  their  victories.  The  country, 
therefore,  through  most  of  its  districts,  v/as  heav- 
ing with  the  convulsive  throbs  which  precede  civil 
war,  like  those  which  announce  an  earthquake. 
Events  hurried  on  to  decide  the  doubtful  and  em- 
bolden the  timorous.  The  active  measures  resolv- 
ed on  by  government,  in  arresting  suspected  per- 
sons throughout  England  and  the  southern  parts  of 
Scotland,  obliged  the  professed  Jacobites  to  bring 
their  minds  to  a  resolution,  and  either  expose  their 
persons  to  the  dangers  of  civil  war,  or  their  char- 
acters to  the  shame  of  being  judged  wanting  in  the 
hour  of  action,  to  all  the  protestations  which  they 
had  made  in  those  of  safety  and  peace. 

These  considerations  decided  men  according  to 
their  characters,  some  to  submit  themselves  to  im- 
prisonment, for  the  safety  of  their  lives  and  for- 
tunes— others  to  draw  the  sword,  and  venture  their 
all  in  support  of  their  avowed  principles.  Those 
gentlemen  who  embraced  the  latter  course,  more 
honourable,  or  more  imprudent  perhaps,  began  to 
leave  their  homes,  and  drew  together  in  such  bodies 
as  might  enable  them  to  resist  the  efforts  of  the 
magistrates,  or  troops  sent  to  arrest  them.  The 
civil  war  began  by  a  very  tragical  rencounter  in  a 
family,  with  the  descendants  of  which  your  grand- 


156      CATASTROPHE  IX  THE  FAMILY 


father  has  long  enjoyed  peculiar  intimacy,  and  of 
which  I  give  the  particulars  after  the  account  pre- 
served by  them,  though  it  is  also  mentioned  in  most 
histories  of  the  times. 

Among  other  families  of  distinction  in  East  Lo- 
thian, that  of  Mr  Hepburn  of  Keith  was  devoted- 
ly attached  to  the  interests  of  the  House  of  Stewart, 
and  he  determined  to  exert  himself  to  the  utmost  in 
the  approaching  conflict.  He  had  several  sons, 
with  whom,  and  his  servants,  he  had  determined  to 
join  a  troop  to  be  raised  in  East  Lothian  and  com- 
manded by  the  Earl  of  Winton.  This  gentleman 
being  much  respected  in  the  county,  it  was  deemed 
of  importance  to  prevent  his  showing  an  example 
which  was  likely  to  be  generally  followed.  For  this 
purpose,  Mr  Hepburn  of  Humbie  and  Dr  Sin- 
clair of  Hermandston  resolved  to  lay  the  Laird  of 
Keith  under  arrest,  and  proceeded  towards  his  house 
with  a  party  of  the  horse-militia,  on  the  morning  of 
the  Sth  of  October,  1715,  which  happened  to  be 
the  very  morning  that  Keith  had  appointed  to  set 
forth  on  his  campaign,  having  made  all  preparations 
on  the  preceding  evening.  The  family  had  assem- 
bled for  the  last  time  at  the  breakfast-table,  when  it 
was  observed  that  one  of  the  young  ladies  looked 
more  sad  and  disconsolate,  than  even  the  departure 
of  her  father  and  brothers  upon  a  distant  and  pre- 
carious expedition  seemed  to  warrant  at  that  period, 
when  the  fair  sex  were  as  enthusiastic  in  politics  as 
the  men. 

Miss  Hepburn  was  easily  induced  to  tell  the  cause 
of  her  fears.  She  had  dreamed  she  saw  her  young- 
est brother,  a  youth  of  great  hopes,  and  generally 


OF    HEPBURN    OF    KEITH.  157 


esteemed,  shot  by  a  man  whose  features  were  im- 
pressed on  her  recollection,  and  stretched  dead  on 
the  floor  of  the  room  in  which  they  were  now  as- 
sembled. The  females  of  the  family  listened  and 
argued — the  men  laughed,  and  turned  the  visionary 
into  ridicule.  The  horses  were  saddled,  and  led 
out  into  the  court-yard,  when  a  mounted  party  was 
discovered  advancing  along  the  flat  ground,  in  front 
of  the  mansion-house,  called  the  Plain  of  Keith. 
The  gate  was  shut ;  and  when  Dr  Sinclair,  who 
was  most  active  in  the  matter,  had  announced  his 
purpose,  and  was  asked  for  his  warrant,  he  handed 
in  at  the  window  the  commission  of  the  Marquis  of 
Tweeddale,  Lord  Lieutenant  of  the  country.  This 
Keith  returned  with  contempt,  and  announced  that 
he  would  stand  on  his  defence.  The  party  within 
mounted  their  horses,  and  sallied  out,  determined 
to  make  their  way  ;  and  Keith  discharging  a  pistol 
in  the  air  charged  the  Doctor  sword  in  hand  ;  the 
militia  then  fired,  and  the  youngest  of  the  Hepburns 
was  killed  on  the  spot.  The  sister  beheld  the  ca- 
tastrophe from  the  windows,  and  to  the  end  of  her 
life  persisted  that  the  homicide  had  the  features  of 
the  person  whom  she  saw  in  her  dream.  The  corpse 
was  carried  into  the  room  where  they  had  so  lately 
breakfasted,  and  Keith,  after  having  paid  this 
heavy  tax  to  the  demon  of  civil  war,  rode  off"  with 
the  rest  of  his  party  to  join  the  insurgents.  Dr 
Sinclair  was  censured  very  generally,  for  letting 
his  party  zeal  hurry  him  into  a  personal  encounter 
with  so  near  a  neighbour  and  familiar  friend ;  he 
vindicated  himself,  by  asserting  that  his  intentions 
were  to  save  Keith  from  the  consequences  into 

VOL.   I.  14 


WESTERN     FRONTIER    INSURRECTION.       158 

which  his  rash  zeal  for  the  Stewart  family  was 
about  to  precipitate  that  gentleman  and  his  family. 
But  Dr.  Sinclair  ought  to  have  been  prepared  to 
expect,  that  a  high-spirited  man,  with  arms  in  his 
hands,  was  certain  to  resist  this  violent  mode  of 
opening  his  eyes  to  the  rashness  of  his  conduct; 
and  he  who  attempts  to  make  either  religious  or  po- 
litical converts  by  compulsion,  must  be  charged 
with  the  consequences  of  such  violence  as  is  most 
likely  to  ensue. 

Mr.  Hepburn  and  his  remaining  sons  joined  the 
Jacobite  gentry  of  the  neighbourhood,  to  the  num- 
ber of  fifty  or  sixty  men,  and  directed  their  course 
vrestward  towards  the  Borders,  where  a  considera- 
ble party  were  in  arms  for  the  same  cause.  The 
leader  of  the  East  Lothian  troop  was  the  Earl  of 
Winton,  a  young  nobleman  twenty-tive  years  old, 
said  to  be  afflicted  by  a  vicissitude  of  spirits  ap- 
proaching to  lunacy.  His  life  had  been  marked  by 
some  strange  singularities,  as  that  ofhis  living  a 
long  time  as  bellows-blower  and  assistant  to  a 
blacksmith  in  France,  without  holding  any  commu- 
nication with  his  country  or  family.  But  if  we  judge 
from  his  conduct  in  the  rebellion,  Lord  Winton  ap- 
pears to  have  displayed  more  sense  and  prudence 
than  most  of  those  engaged  in  that  unfortunate  af- 
fair. 

This  Lothian  insurrection  soon  merged  in  the 
two  principal  southern  risings,  which  took  place  in 
Dumfries-shire  and  Galloway  in  Scotland,  and  in 
Northumberland  and  Cumberland  in  England. 

On  the  western  frontier  of  Scotland  there  were 
many  families  not  only  Jacobites  in  politics,  but 


i 


WESTERN    FRONTIER    INSURRECTION.       159 

Roman  Catholics  in  religion ;  and  therefore  bound 
by  a  double  tie  to  the  heir  of  James  II.,  who,  for 
the  sake  of  that  form  of  faith,  may  be  justly  thought 
to  have  forfeited  his  kingdoms.  Among  the  rest, 
the  Earl  of  Nithisdale,  combining  in  his  person 
the  representation  of  two  noble  families,  those  of 
the  Lord  Herries  and  the  Lord  Maxwell,  might  be 
considered  as  the  natural  leader  of  the  party.  But 
William,  Viscount  Kenmure,  in  Galloway,  a  Pro- 
testant, was  preferred  as  chief  of  the  enterprise,  as 
it  was  not  thought  prudent  to  bring  Catholics  too 
much  forward  in  the  affair,  on  account  of  the  scan- 
dal to  which  their  promotion  might  give  rise.  Many 
neighbouring  gentlemen  were  willing  to  throw  them- 
selves and  their  fortunes  into  the  same  adventure  in 
which  Nithisdale  and  Kenmure  stood  committed. 
The  latter  was  a  man  of  good  sense  and  resolution, 
well  acquainted  with  civil  affairs,  but  a  total  stran- 
ger to  the  military  art. 

In  the  beginning  of  October,  the  plan  of  insur- 
rection was  so  far  ripened,  that  the  gentlemen  of 
Galloway,  Nithisdale,  and  Annandale,  proposed 
by  a  sudden  efibrt  to  possess  themselves  of  the 
country  town  of  Dumfries.  The  town  was  protected 
on  the  one  side  by  the  river  Nith ;  on  the  others  it 
might  be  considered  as  open.  But  the  zeal  of  the 
inhabitants,  and  of  the  Whig  gentlemen  of  the 
neighbourhood,  baffled  the  enterprise,  which  must 
otherwise  have  been  attended  with  credit  to  the 
arms  of  the  insurgents.  The  Lord  Lieutenant  and 
his  deputies  collected  the  fensible  men  of  the  coun- 
ty, and  brought  several  large  parties  into  Dumfries, 
to  support,   if  necessary,  the  defence  of  the  place. 


160  GALLANTRY    OF    THE 


The  provost,  Robert  Corbet,  Esq.  mustered  the 
citizens,  and  putting  himself  at  their  head,  har- 
angued them  in  a  style  peculiarly  calculated  to  in- 
spire confidence.  He  reminded  them  that  their 
laws  and  religion  were  at  stake,  and  that  their  cause 
resembled  that  of  the  Israelites,  when  led  by  Josh- 
ua against  the  unbelieving  inhabitants  of  the  land 
of  Canaan. 

*'  Nevertheless,"  said  the  considerate  Provost 
of  Dumfries  ;  "  as  I,  who  am  your  unworthy  lead- 
er, cannot  pretend  to  any  divine  commission  like 
that  of  the  son  of  Nun,  I  do  not  take  upon  me  to 
recommend  the  extermination  of  your  enemies,  as 
the  judge  of  Israel  was  commanded  to  do  by  a 
special  revelation.  On  the  contrary,  I  earnestly 
entreat  you  to  use  your  assured  victory  w^ith  clem- 
ency, and  remember,  that  the  misguided  persons 
opposed  to  )'ou  are  still  your  countrymen  and  breth- 
ren." This  oration,  which,  instead  of  fixing  the 
minds  of  his  followers  on  a  doubtful  contest,  in- 
structed them  only  how  to  make  use  of  certain  vic- 
tory, had  a  great  effect  in  encouraging  the  bands  of 
the  sagacious  provost,  who,  wdth  their  auxiliaries 
from  the  country,  drew  out  and  took  a  position  to 
cover  the  tow^n  of  Dumfries. 

Lord  Kenmure  marched  from  Moffat,  with  about 
a  hundred  and  fifty  horse,  on  Wednesday  the  13th 
of  October,  with  the  purpose  of  occupying  Dum- 
fries. But  finding  the  friends  of  government  in 
such  a  state  of  preparation,  he  became  speedily 
aware  that  he  could  not  with  a  handful  of  cavalry 
propose  to  storm  a  town,  the  citizens  of  which 
^vere    determined    on  resistance.      The    Jacobite 


Jl 


PROVOST    OF    DUMFRIES.  161 


gentlemen,  therefore,  retreated  to  Moffat,  and 
thence  to  Langholm  and  Hawick.  From  thence 
they  took  their  departure  for  the  eastward,  to  join 
the  Northumberland  gentlemen  who  were  in  arms 
in  the  same  cause,  and  towards  whom  we  must 
now  direct  our  attention. 

In  England,  a  very  dangerous  and  extensive 
purpose  of  insurrection  certainly  existed  shortly 
after  the  Queen's  death  ;  but  the  exertions  of  gov- 
ernment had  been  so  great  in  all  quarters,  that  it 
was  every  where  disconcerted  or  suppressed.  The 
University  of  Oxford  was  supposed  to  be  highly 
dissatisfied  at  the  accession  of  the  House  of  Han- 
over ;  and  there,  as.  well  as  at  Bath,  and  elsewhere 
in  the  west,  horses,  arms,  and  ammunition,  were 
seized  in  considerable  quantities,  and  most  of  the 
Tory  gentlemen  who  w^re  suspected  of  harbouring 
dangerous  intentior  s,  were  either  arrested,  or  de- 
livered themselves  up  on  the  summons  of  govern- 
ment. Amongst  these  was  Sir  William  Wyndham, 
one  of  the  principal  leaders  of  the  High  Church 
party. 

In  Northumberland  and  Cumberland,  the  Tories, 
at  a  greater  distance  from  the  power  of  the  govern- 
ment, were  easily  inclined  to  action ;  they  were 
besides,  greatly  influenced  by  the  news  of  the  Earl 
of  Mar's  army,  which,  though  large  enough  to 
have  done  more  than  it  ever  attempted,  was  still 
much  magnified  by  common  fame.  The  unfortu- 
nate Earl  of  Derwentwater,  who  acted  so  promi- 
nent a  part  in  this  shortlived  struggle,  was  by  birth 
connected  with  the  exiled  royal  family ;  his  lady  al- 
so was  a  bigot  in  their  cause  :  and  the  Catholic  re- 
14* 


162  iNSURRECTlOiN    OF    ENGLAND. 

ligion,  which  he  professed,  made  it  almost  a  crime 
in  this  nobleman  to  remain  peaceful  on  the  present 
occasion.     Thomas  Forster  of  Bamborough,  mem- 
ber of  Parliament  for  the  county  of  Northumberland, 
was  equally  attached  to  the  Jacobite  cause  ;  being  a 
Church-of-England  man,   he  was   adopted  as  the 
commander-in-chief  of    the    insurrection,    for   the 
same  reason  that  the  Lord  Kenmure  was  preferred 
to  the   Earl  of  Nithisdale  in  the  command  of  the 
Scottish  levies.     Warrants  being  issued  against  the 
Earl  of  Derwentwater  and   Mr  Forster,   they  ab- 
sconded, and  lurked  for  a  few  days   among  their 
friends  in  Northumberland,  till  a  general  consulta- 
tion could  be  held  of  the  principal  northern  Tories, 
at  the  house  ot  Mr  Fenwick  of  Bywell ;  when,  as 
they  foresaw  that,  if  they  should  be  arrested,  and 
separately  examined,  they  could  scarce  frame  such 
a  defence    as  might  save   them  from  the  charge  of 
high  treason,  they  resolved  to  unite  in  a  body,  and 
try  the  chance  that  fortune  might  send  them.    With 
this  purpose  they  held  a  meeting  at  a  place  called 
Greenrig,  where  Forster  arrived  with  about  twenty 
horse.     They  went   from  this  to    the  top  of  a  hill, 
called  the  Waterfalls,  where  they  were  joined  by 
Lord   Derwentwater.       This   reinforcement   made 
them  near  sixty  horse,  with  which  they  proceeded 
to  the  small  town  of  Rothbury,  and  from  thence  to 
Warkworth,   where   they  proclaimed  King  James 
IIL     On   the   10th   of  October   they  marched    to 
Morpeth,   where  they  received   further   reinforce- 
ments, which  raised  them  to  three  hundred  horse, 
the  highest  number  which  they  ever  attained.  Some 
pf  these  gentlemen  remained  undecided  till  the  la«t 


INSURRECTION   IN    THE  163 

fatal  moment,  and  amongst  these  was  John  Hall 
of  Otterburn.  He  attended  a  meeting  of  the  quar- 
ter sessions,  which  was  held  at  Alnwick,  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  measures  for  quelling  the  rebel- 
lion, but  left  it  with  such  precipitation  that  he  for- 
got his  hat  upon  the  bench,  and  joined  the  fatal 
meeting  at  the  Waterfalls. 

The  insurgents  could  levy  no  foot  soldiers,  though 
many  men  offered  to  join  them ;  for  they  had  nei- 
ther arms  to  equip  them,  nor  money  to  pay  them. 
This  want  of  infantry  was  the  principal  cause  why 
they  did  not  make  an  immediate  attack  on  Newcas- 
tle, which  had  formed  part  of  their  original  plan. 
But  the  town,  though  not  regularly  fortified,  was 
surrounded  with  a  high  stone  wall,  with  old-fash- 
ioned gates.  The  magistrates,  who  were  zealous  on 
the  side  of  government,  caused  the  gates  to  be  wall- 
ed up  with  masonry,  and  raised  a  body  of  seven  hun- 
dred volunteers  for  the  defence  of  the  town,to  which 
the  keelmen,  or  bargemen  employed  in  the  coal-trade 
upon  the  Tyne,  made  offer  of  seven  hundred  more  ; 
and,  in  the  course  of  a  day  or  two.  General  Carpen- 
ter arrived  with  part  of  those  forces  with  whom  he 
afterwards  attacked  the  insurgents.  After  this  last 
reinforcement,  the  gentlemen,  as  Forster's  cavalry 
were  called,  lost  all  hopes  of  surprising  Newcastle. 
About  the  same  time,  however,  a  beam  of  success 
which  attended  their  arms,  might  be  said  just  to 
glimmer  and  disappear.  This  was  the  exploit  of  a 
gentleman  named  Lancelot  Errington,  who,  by  a 
dexterous  stratagem,  contrived  to  surprise  the  small 
castle,  or  fort,  upon  Holy  Island,  which  might  have 
1>een  useful  to  the  insurgents  in  maintaining  their 


164  NORTH     OF     ENGLAND. 


foreign  communication.  But  before  Errington  could 
receive  the  necessary  supplies  of  men  and  provis- 
ions, the  governor  of  Berwick  detached  a  party  of 
thirty  soldiers,  and  about  fifty  voluiYteers,  who  cross- 
ing the  sands  at  low  water,  attacked  the  little  fort, 
and  carried  it  sword  in  hand.  Errington  was  woun- 
ded and  taken  prisoner,  but  afterwards  made  his 
escape. 

This  disappointment,  with  the  news  that  troops 
were  advancing  to  succour  Newcastle,  decided 
Forster  and  his  followers  to  unite  themselves  with 
the  Viscount  Kenmure  and  the  Scottish  gentlemen 
engaged  in  the  same  cause.  The  English  express 
found  Kenmure  near  Hawick,  at  a  moment  when 
his  little  band  of  about  two  hundred  men  had  almost 
determined  to  give  up  the  enterprise.  Upon  receiv- 
ing Forster's  communication,  however,  they  resolv- 
ed to  join  him  at  Rothberry. 

On  the  19th  of  October,  the  two  bodies  of  insur- 
gents met  at  Rothberry,  and  inspected  each  other's 
military  state  and  equipments,  with  the  anxiety  of 
mingled  hope  and  apprehension.  The  general 
character  of  the  troops  was  the  same,  but  the  Scots 
seemed  the  best  prepared  for  action,  being  mounted 
on  strong  hardy  horses,  fit  for  the  charge,  and,  though 
but  poorly  disciplined,  were  well  armed  with  the 
basket-hilted  broadswords,  then  common  through- 
out Scotland.  The  English  gentlemen,  on  the  oth- 
er hand,  were  mounted  on  fleet  blood  horses,  better 
adapted  for  the  race-course  and  hunting-field  than 
for  action ;  there  was  among  them  a  great  want  of 
war-saddles,  curb-bridles,  and,  above  all,  of  swords 
and  pistols  ;  so  that  the  Scots  were  inclined  to  doubt 


THE    ENGLISH    INSURGENTS.  165 


whether  men  so  well  equipped  for  flight,  and  so  im- 
perfectly prepared  for  combat,  might  not,  in  case  of 
an  encounter,  take  the  safer  course,  and  leave  them 
in  the  lurch.  Their  want  of  swords  in  particular, 
at  least  of  cutting  swords  fit  for  the  cavalry  service, 
is  proved  by  an  anecdote.  It  is  said,  that  as  they 
entered  the  town  of  Wooler,  their  commanding  of- 
ficer gave  the  word,  ^*  gentlemen,  you  that  have  got 
swords  draw  them;"  to  which  a  fellow  among  the 
crowd  answered,  not  irrelevantly.  "  And  what  shall 
they  do  who  have  none  ?"  When  Forster,  by  means 
of  one  of  his  captains  named  Douglas,  had  opened 
a  direct  communication  with  Mar's  army,  the  mes- 
senger stated  that  the  English  were  willing  to  have 
given  horses  worth  £25,  then  a  considerable 
price,  for  such  swords  as  are  generally  worn  by 
Highlanders. 

It  may  also  be  here  noticed,  that  out  of  the  four 
troops  commanded  by  Forster,  the  two  raised  by 
Lord  Derwentwater  and  Lord  Widringtcn  were,  like 
those  of  the  Scots,  composed  of  gentlemen,  and 
their  relations  and  dependents.  But  the  third  and 
fourth  troops  differed  considerably  from  the  others 
in  their  composition.  The  one  was  commanded 
by  John  Hunter,  who  united  the  character  of  a  Bor- 
der farmer  with  that  of  a  contraband  trader ;  the 
other  by  the  same  Douglas  whom  we  have  just  men- 
tioned, who  was  remarkable  for  his  dexterity  and 
success  in  searching  for  arms  and  horses,  a  trade 
which  he  is  said  not  to  have  limited  to  the  time  of 
the  rebellion.  Into  the  troops  of  these  last-named 
officers,  many  persons  of  slender  reputation  were 
introduced,  who  had  either  lived  by  smuggling,  or 


166  DISPUTE    BETWEEN 

by  the  ancient  Border  practice  of  horse-lifting,  as  it 
was  called.  These  light  and  suspicious  characters, 
however,  fought  with  determined  courage  at  the 
barricades  of  Preston. 

The  motions  of  Kenmure  and  Forster  were  now 
decided  by  the  news,  that  a  detachment  from  Mar's 
army  had  been  sent  across  the  Frith  of  Forth  to  join 
them ;  and  this  requires  us  to  return  to  the  Northern 
insurrection,  which  was  now  endeavouring  to  ex- 
tend and  connect  itself  with  that  which  had  broke 
out  on  the  Border.  The  Earl  of  Mar,  it  must  be 
observed,  had,  from  the  first  moment  of  his  arrival 
at  Perth,  or  at  least  as  soon  as  he  was  joined  by  a 
disposable  force,  designed  to  send  a  party  over  the 
Frith  into  Lothian,  who  should  encourage  the  Jaco- 
bites in  that  country  to  rise  ;  and  he  proposed  to 
confer  this  command  upon  the  Master  of  Sinclair. 
As,  however,  this  separation  of  his  forces  must  have 
considerably  weakened  his  own  army,  and  perhaps 
exposed  him  to  an  unwelcome  visit  from  the  Duke 
of  Argyle,  Mar  postponed  his  purpose  until  he 
should  be  joined  by  reinforcements.  These  were 
now  pouring  fast  into  Perth. 

From  the  North,  the  ]Marquis  of  Huntly,  one  of 
the  most  powerful  of  the  confederacy,  joined  the  ar- 
my at  Perth  with  foot  and  horse,  Lowlanders  and 
Highlanders,  to  the  amount  of  nearly  four  thousand 
men.  The  Earl  Marischal  had  the  day  before 
brought  up  his  own  power,  consisting  of  about 
eighty  horses.  The  arrival  of  these  noblemen 
brought  some  seeds  of  dissension  into  the  camp. 
Marischal,  so  unlike  the  wisdom  of  his  riper  years, 
with  the  indiscretion  of  a  very  young  man,  gave  just 


HUISTLY    AND    MARISCHAL.  167 


oifence  to  Huntly,  by  endeavouring  to  deprive  him 
of  a  part  of  his  following. 

The  occasion  was  this.  The  Mac  Phersons,  a 
very  stout,  hardy  clan,  who  are  called  in  Gaelic, 
Mac  Vourigh,  and  headed  by  Cluuy  Mac  Pherson, 
held  some  possessions  of  the  Gordon  family,  and 
therefore  naturally  placed  themselves  under  the 
Marquis  of  Huntly's  banner  on  the  present  occa- 
sion, although  it  might  be  truly  said,  that  in  gener- 
al they  were  by  no  means  the  most  tractable  vas- 
sals. Marischal  endeavoured  to  prevail  on  this 
Clan-Vourigh  to  place  themselves  under  his  com- 
mand instead  of  that  of  Huntly,  alleging,  that  as  the 
Mac  Phersons  always  piqued  themselves  on  being  a 
distinguished  branch  of  the  great  confederacy  call- 
ed Clah-Chattan,  so  was  he,  by  his  name  of  Keith, 
the  natural  chief  of  the  confederacy  aforesaid.  Mar 
is  said  to  have  yielded  some  countenance  to  the 
claim,  the  singularity  of  which  affords  a  curious 
picture  of  the  matters  with  which  these  insurgents 
were  occupied.  The  cause  of  Mar's  taking  part 
in  such  a  debate  was  alleged  to  be,  the  desire  which 
he  had  to  lower  the  estimation  of  Huntly's  power 
and  numbers.  The  Mac  Phersons,  however,  con- 
sidered the  broad  lands  which  they  held  of  the  Gor- 
don as  better  reason  for  rendering  him  their  allegi- 
ance, than  the  etymological  arguments  urged  by 
the  Earl  Marischal,  and  refused  to  desert  the  ban- 
ner under  which  they  had  come  to  the  field. 

Another  circumstance  early  disgusted  Huntly  with 
an  enterprise  in  which  he  could  not  hope  to  gain 
any  thing,  and  which  placed  in  peril  a  princely  es- 
*Me.  and  a  ducal  title.    Besides  about  three  squad- 


16S  huntly's  light  horse. 


rons  of  gentlemen,  chiefly  of  his  own  name,  well 
mounted  and  well  armed,  he  had  brought  into  the 
field  a  squadron  of  some  fifty  men  strong,  whom 
he  termed  Light  Horse,  though  totally  unfit  for  the 
service  of  pttite  querre  which  that  name  implies. 
A  satirist  describes  them  as  consisting  of  great 
lubberly  fellows,  in  bonnets,  without  boots,  and 
mounted  on  long-tailed  little  ponies,  w^th  snaflle- 
bridles,  the  riders  being  much  the  bigger  animals  of 
the  two ;  and  instead  of  pistols,  these  horsemen 
were  armed  with  great  rusty  muskets,  tied  on  their 
backs  with  ropes.  These  uncouth  cavaliers  excit- 
ed a  degree  of  mirth  and  ridicule  among  the  more 
civilized  Southern  gentry ;  which  is  not  suprising, 
any  more  than  that  both  the  men,  and  Huntly,  their 
commander,  felt  and  resented  such  uncivil  treat- 
ment— a  feeling  which  was  gradually  increased  in- 
to a  disinclination  to  the  cause  in  which  they  had 
received  the  indignity. 

Besides  these  Northern  forces.  Mar  also  ex- 
pected many  powerful  succours  from  the  north- 
west, which  comprehended  the  tribes  termed,  dur- 
ing that  insurrection,  by  way  of  excellence,  The 
Clans.  The  chiefs  of  these  families  had  readily 
agreed  to  hold  the  rendezvous  which  had  been  set- 
tled at  the  hunting  match  of  Braemar ;  but  none  of 
them,  save  Glengarry,  were  very  hasty  in  recol- 
lecting their  promise.  Of  this  high  chief  a  con- 
tempory  says,  it  would  be  hard  to  say  whether  he 
had  more  of  the  lion,  the  fox,  or  the  bear,  in  his  dis- 
position ;  for  he  was  at  least  as  crafty  and  rough 
as  he  was  courageous  and  gallant.  At  any  rate, 
both  his  faults  and  virtues  were  consistent  with  his 


DELAir    OF    THl^    WESTERN    CLANS.  169 


character,   which   attracted  more    admiration  than 


that  of  any  other  engaged  in  Mar's  insurrection. 
He  levied  his  men,  and  marched  to  the  braes  of 
Glenorchy,  where,  after  remaining  eight  days,  he 
was  joined  by  the  Captain  of  Clanranald,  and  Sir 
John  Mac  Lean ;  who  cltme,  the  one  with  the  Mac 
Donalds  of  Moidart  anxi  Arisaig ;  the  other  with 
a  regiment  of  his  own  name,  from  the  Isle  of  Mull. 
A  detachment  of  these  clans  commenced  the  war 
by  an  attempt  to  surprise  the  garrison  at  Inverlochy. 
They  succeeded  in  taking  some  outworks,  and 
made  the  defenders  prisoners,  but  failed  in  their  at- 
tack upon  the  place,  the  soldiers  being  on  their 
guard. 

Still,  though  hostilities  were  in  a  manner  begun, 
these  western  levies  were  far  from  complete. 
Stewart  of  Appin,  and  Cameron  of  Lochiel,  would 
neither  of  them  move  ;  and  the  Breadalbane  men, 
whose  assistance  had  been  promised  by  the  singu- 
lar Earl  of  that  name,  were  equally  tardy.  There 
was  probably  little  inclination,  on  the  part  of  those 
clans  who  were  near  neighbours  to  the  Duke  of  Ar- 
gyle,  and  some  of  them  Campbells,  to  displease 
that  powerful  and  much-respected  nobleman.  An- 
other mighty  limb  of  the  conspiracy,  lying  also  in 
the  north-western  extremity  of  Scotland,  was  the 
Earl  of  Seaforth,  chief  of  the  Mac  Kenzies,  who 
could  bring  into  the  field  from  two  to  three  thousand 
men  of  his  own  name,  and  that  of  M?ic  Rae,  and 
other  clans  dependent  upon  him.  But  he  also  was 
prevented  from  taking  the  field  and  joining  Mar,  by 
the  operations  of  the  Earl  of  Southerland,  who,  tak- 
ing the  chief  command  of  some  of  the  Northern 

VOL.  I.  15 


170  DELAY    OF    THE    WESTERN    CLANS. 


clans  who  were  disposed  to  favour  government — 
as,  the  ?>Ionroes,  under  their  chief,  Monro  of  Fou- 
iis  ;  the  Mac  Kays,  under  Lord  Rae  ;  the  numer- 
ous and  pow'erfui  clan  of  Grant,  along  with  his  own 
following — had  assembled  a  little  army,  with  which 
he  made  a  demonstratioi^  towards  the  Bridge  of 
Alness.  Thus  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  about 
twelve  or  fifteen  hundred  men,  Southerland  was  so 
stationed  on  the  verge  of  Seaforth's  country,  that 
the  latter  chief  could  not  collect  his  men,  and  move 
southward  to  join  Mar,  without  leaving  his  estates 
exposed  to  ravage.  S^aforth  prepared  to  move, 
however,  so  soon  as  circumstances  would  admit, 
for  while  he  faced  the  Earl  of  Southland,  with  a- 
bout  eighteen  hundred  men,  he  sent  Sir  John  Mac 
Kenzie  of  CouU  to  possess  himself  of  Inverness, 
Brigadier  Mac  Intosh,  by  whom  it  was  occupied 
for  James  VIII.,  having  moved  southward  to  Perth. 
Thus,  from  one  circumstance  or  another,  the 
raising  of  the  western  clans  was  greatly  delayed ; 
and  Mar,  whose  plan  it  was  not  to  attempt  any 
thing  till  he  should  have  collected  the  whole  force 
together  which  he  could  possibly  expect,  was,  or 
thought  himself,  obliged  to  remain  at  Perth,  long 
after  he  had  assembled  an  arrtiy  sufficient  to  attack 
the  Duke  of  Argyle,  and  force  his  way  into  the 
southern  part  of  Scotland,  where  the  news  of  his 
success,  and  the  Duke's  defeat  or  retreat,  together 
with  the  hope  of  plunder,  would  have  decided  those 
tardy  western  chieftains,  who  were  yet  hesitating 
whether  they  should  join  him  or  not.  Mar,  how- 
ever, tried  to  influence  them  by  arguments  of  a 
different   nature,  such    as  he  had  the   power  of  of- 


^ 


PROCRASTINATION    OF    MAR.  171 

fering;  and  dispatched  General  Gordon  to  expe- 
dite these  levies,  with  particular  instructions  to 
seize  on  the  Duke  of  Argyle's  castle  at  Inverary, 
and  the  arms  understood  to  be  deposited  there. 
There  was  afterwards  supposed  to  be  some  person- 
al spleen,  in  the  Earl's  thus  beginning  direct  hos- 
tilities against  his  great  opponent ;  but  it  must  be 
said,  to  the  honour  of  the  rebel  General,  that  he 
resolved  not  to  set  the  example  of  beginning  wit|j 
fire  and  sword  ;  and  therefore  directed,  that  though 
General  Gordon  might  threaten  to  burn  the  castle 
at  Inverary,  he  was  on  no  account  to  proceed  to 
such  extremity  without  further  orders.  His  object 
probably  was,  besides  a  desire  to  possess  the  arms 
said  to  be  in  the  place,  to  effect  a  complete  breach 
between  the  Duke  of  Argyle  and  the  clans  in  his 
vicinity,  which  must  have  necessarily  been  attend- 
ed with  great  diminution  of  the  Duke's  influence. 
We  shall  see  presently  how  far  this  line  of  policy 
appears  to  have  succeeded. 

During  the  currency  of  these  events.  Mar  receiv- 
ed information  of  the  partial  rising  which  had  tak- 
en place  in  Northumberland,  and  the  disposition  to 
similar  movements  which  showed  itself  in  various 
parts  of  Scotland.  It  might  have  been  thought, 
that  these  things  would  have  induced  him  at  leagth 
to  burst  from  the  sort  of  confinement,  in  which  the 
small  body  commanded  by  Argyle  retained  so  su- 
perior an  army.  If  Mar  judged  that  the  troops  un- 
der his  command,  assembled  at  Perth,  were  too 
few  to  attack  a  force  which  they  more  than  doubled, 
there  remained  a  plan  of  manoeuvring  by  which 
he  might  encounter  Argyle  at  a  yet  greater  advan- 


17?  PROCRASTINATION    OF    MAR. 


tage.  He  might  have  commanded  General  Gor- 
don, when  he  had  collected  the  western  clans,  who 
could  not  amount  to  fewer  than  four  thousand  men, 
instead  of  amusing  himself  at  Inverary,  to  direct 
their  course  to  the  Fords  of  Frew,  by  which  the 
river  Forth  may  be  crossed  above  Stirling,  and 
near  to  its  source.  Such  a  movement  would  have 
menaced  the  Duke  from  the  westward,  while  Mar 
liimself  might  have  advanced  against  him  from  the 
north,  and  endeavoured  to  possess  himself  of  Stirl- 
ing bridge,  which  was  not  very  strongly  guarded. 
The  insurgent  cavalry  of  Lord  Kenmure  could  al- 
so have  co-operated  in  such  a  plan  of  operations, 
i)y  advancing  from  Dumfries  towards  Glasgow, 
n.nd  threatening  the  west  of  Scotland.  It  is  plain 
that  the  Duke  of  Argyle  saw  the  danger  of  being 
thus  cut  o if  from  the  western  countries,  where  gov- 
ernment had  many  zealous  adherents  ;  for  he  or- 
«lered  up  five  Imndred  men  from  Glasgow  to  join 
his  camp  at  Stirling  ;  and  on  the  24th  of  Septem- 
ber, commanded  all  the  regiments  of  fencibles  and 
volunteers  in  the  west  of  Scotland  to  repair  to  Glas- 
gow, as  the  most  advantageous  central  point  from 
which  to  protect  the  country,  and  cover  his  own 
encampment;  and  establish  gamsons  at  the  vil- 
lage of  Dry  men,  and  also  in  several  gentlemen's 
Jiouses  adjacent  to  the  Fords  of  Frew,  to  prevent 
or  retard  any  descent  of  the  Highlanders  into  the 
Low  Country  by  that  pass.  But  the  warlike  habits 
of  the  Highlanders  were  greatly  superior  to  those 
of  the  raw  Lowland  levies,  whom  they  would  prob- 
ably have  treated  with  little  ceremony. 

Nevertheless,  the  Earl  of  Mar,  far  from  adopt- 
ing a   plan  so   decisive,  resolved  to  afford  support 


It  A 


DESCENT    UPOxN    LOTHIAN.  ITS 


to  Kenmure  and  Forster,  by  his  original  plan  of 
marching  a  detachment  to  their  assistance,  instead 
of  moving  his  whole  force  towards  the  Lowlands. 
This,  he  conceived,  might  be  sufficient  to  give 
them  the  aid  and  protection  of  a  strong  body  of 
infantry,  and  enabled  them  to  strengthen  and  in- 
crease their  numbers,  whilst  the  measure  allowed 
him  to  remain  undisturbed  at  Perth,  to  await  the 
final  result  of  his  intrigues  in  the  Highlands,  and 
those  which  had  commenced  at  the  court  of  the 
Chevalier  de  St  George.  There  were  many  and 
obvious  dangers  in  m.aking  the  proposed  move- 
ment. A  great  inlet  of  the  sea  was  to  be  crossed; 
and  if  the  passage  was  to  be  attempted  about  Dun- 
fermline or  Inverkeithing,  where  the  Forth  was 
less  broad,  it  was  to  be  feared  that  the  bustle  of 
collecting  boats,  and  the  march  of  the  troops  which 
were  to  form  the  detachment,  might  give  warning 
to  the  Duke  of  Argyle  of  what  was  intended,  who 
was  likely  to  send  a  body  of  his  dragoons  to  sur- 
prise and  cut  the  detachment  off,  on  their  arrival 
at  the  southern  side  of  the  Forth.  On  the  other 
hand,  to  attempt  the  passage  over  the  lower  part  of 
the  Frith,  where  vessels  were  more  numerous,  and 
could  be  assembled  with  less  observation,  was  to 
expose  the  detachment  to  the  uncertainties  of  a 
j)assage  of  fifteen  or  eighteen  miles  across,  which 
was  guarded  by  men-of-war,  with  their  boats  and 
launches,  to  which  the  officers  of  the  customs  at 
every  seaport  had  the  most  strict  orders  to  trans- 
mit intelligence  of  whatever  movement  might  be 
attempted  by  the  rebels.  Upon  a  choice  of  diffi- 
cultief?',  however,  the  crossing  of  the  Firth  from 
15* 


174  MAC    INTOSH's    DESCr.NT 


Pittonweem,  Crail,  and  other  towns  situated  to  the 
eastward  on  the  Fife  coast,  was  determined  on. 

The  troops  destined  for  the  adventure,  were 
Mar's  own  regiment,  as  it  was  called,  consisting  of 
the  Fraquharsons,  and  others  from  the  banks  of  the 
Dee — that  of  the  Macintoshes — those  of  Lords 
Strathmore,  Nairne,  and  Lord  Charles  Murray,  all 
Highlanders,  excepting  Lord  Strathmore's  Low- 
land regiment.  They  made  up  in  all  about  two 
thousand  five  hundred  men;  for  in  the  rebel  army 
the  regiments  were  weak  in  numbers,  Mar  having 
gratified  the  chiefs,  by  giving  each  the  commission 
of  colonel,  and  allowing  him  the  satisfaction  to 
form  a  battalion  out  of  his  own  followers,  however 
few  in  number. 

The  intended  expedition  was  arranged  with  some 
address.  Considerable  parties  of  horse  traversed 
Fifeshire  in  various  directions,  proclaiming  James 
VIIL,  and  levyingthe  cess  of  the  county,  though  in 
very  different  proportions  on  those  whom  they  ac- 
counted friends  or  enemies  to  their  cause,  their  de- 
mands upon  the  latter  being  both  larger,  and  more 
rigorously  enforced.  These  movements  were  con- 
trived to  distract  the  attention  of  the  Whigs,  and 
that  of  the  Duke  of  Argyle,  by  various  rumours, 
tending  to  conceal  Mar's  real  purpose  of  sending  a 
detachment  across  the  Frith.  For  the  same  pur- 
pose, when  their  intention  could  be  no  longer  con- 
cealed, the  English  men-of-war  were  deceived  con- 
cerning the  place  where  the  attempt  was  to  be  made. 
Mar  threw  troops  into  the  castle  of  Burntisland, 
and  seemed  busy  in  collecting  vessels  in  th^  little 
port.     The  armed  ships  were  induced  by  these  ap- 


UPON    LOTHIAN.  175 


pearances  to  slip  their  cables,  and,  standing  over  to 
Burntisland,  commenced  a  cannonade,  which  was 
returned  by  the  rebels  from  a  battery  which  they 
had  constructed  on  the  outer  port  of  the  harbour, 
with  little  damage  on  either  side. 

By  these  feints  Mar  was  enabled  to  get  the  troops, 
designed  to  form  the  expedition,  moved  in  secrecy 
down  to  Pittenweem,  the  Ely,  Crail,  and  other 
small  ports  so  numerous  on  that  coast.  They 
were  placed  under  the  command  of  Mac  Intosh  of 
Borlum,  already  mentioned,  commonly  called  Bri- 
gadier Mac  Intosh,  a  Highland  gentleman,  who  was 
trained  to  regular  war  in  the  French  service.  He 
was  a  bold,  rough  soldier,  but  is  stated  to  have  de- 
graded the  character  by  a  love  of  plunder  which 
would  have  better  become  a  lower  rank  in  the  army. 
But  this  may  have  been  a  false  or  exaggerated 
charge. 

The  English  vessels  of  war  received  notice  of 
the  design,  or  observed  the  embarcation  from  their 
topmasts,  but  too  late  to  offer  effectual  interruption. 
They  weighed  anchor,  however,  at  flood-tide,  and 
sailed  to  intercept  the  flotilla  of  the  insurgents. 
Nevertheless,  they  only  captured  a  single  boat, 
with  about  forty  Highlanders.  Some  of  the  vessels 
were,  however,  forced  back  to  the  Fife  coast,  from 
which  they  came ;  and  the  boats  which  bore  Lord 
Strathmore's  Lowland  regiment,  and  others  filled 
with  Highlanders,  were  forced  into  the  island  of  May, 
in  the  mouth  of  the  Forth,  where  they  were  block- 
aded by  the  men-of-war.  The  gallant  young  Earl 
intrenched  himself  on  the  island,  and  harangued  his 
followers  onthe  fidelity  which  they  owed  to  the  cause; 


176  MAC  intosh's  descent 


and  undertook  to  make  his  own  faith  evident,  by  ex- 
posing his  person  wherever  the  peril  should  prove 
greatest,  and  accounting  it  an  honour  to  die  in  the 
service  of  the  Prince  for  whom  he  had  taken  arms. 
Blockaded  in  an  almost  desert  island,  this  young 
nobleman  had  the  additional  difficulty  of  subduing 
quarrels  and  jealousies  betwixt  the  Highlanders  and 
his  own  followers  from  Angus.  These  dissensions 
ran  so  high,  that  the  Lowlanders  resolved  to  em- 
brace an  opportunity  to  escape  from  the  island  with 
their  small  craft,  and  leave  the  Highlanders  to  their 
fate.  The  proposal  was  rejected  by  Strathmore 
with  ineffable  disdain,  nor  would  he  leave  his  very 
unpleasant  situation,  till  the  change  of  winds  and 
waves  afforded  him  a  fair  opportunity  of  leading  all 
who  had  been  sharers  in  his  misfortune  in  safety 
back  to  the  coast  they  sailed  from. 

Meantime  the  greater  part  of  the  detachment  de- 
signed for  the  descent  upon  Lothian,  being  about 
sixteen  hundred  men,  succeeded  in  their  desperate 
attempt,  and  had  landed  at  North  Berwick,  Aber- 
lady,  Gulan,  and  other  places  on  the  southern  shores 
of  the  Frith,  from  whence  they  marched  upon  Had- 
dington, where  they  again  formed  a  junction,  and 
refreshed  themselves  for  a  night,  till  they  should 
learn  the  fate  of  their  friends  who  had  not  yet  ap- 
peared. We  have  not  the  means  of  knowing  wheth- 
er Mac  Intosh  had  any  precise  orders  for  his  con- 
duct when  he  should  find  himself  in  Lothian.  The 
dispatches  of  Mar  would  lead  us  to  infer  that  he  had 
instructions,  which  ought  to  have  directed  his  march 
instantly  to  the  Borders,  to  unite  himself  with  Ken- 
mure  and  Forster.     But  he  mur-t  have  had  consid- 


LTON    LOTHIAN.  17 


erable  latitude  in  his  orders,  since  it  was  almost  im- 
possible to  frame  them  in  such  a  manner  as  to  meet, 
with  any  degree  of  precision,  tiie  circumstances  in 
which  he  might  be  placed,  and  much  must  have,  oi 
course,  been  intrusted  to  his  own  discretion.  The 
surprise,  however,  was  great,  even  in  the  Brigadier's 
own  little  army,  when,  instead  of  marching  south- 
ward, as  they  had  expected,  they  were  ordered  to 
face  about  and  advance  rapidly  on  the  capital. 

This  movement  Mar  afterwards  termed  a  mis- 
take on  the  Brigadier's  part.  But  it  was  probably 
occasioned  by  the  information  which  Mac  Intosh  re- 
ceived from  friends  in  Edinburgh,  that  the  capital 
might  be  occupied  by  a  rapid  march,  before  it  could 
be  relieved  by  the  Duke  of  Argyle,  who  was  lying 
thirty  miles  off.  The  success  of  such  a  surprise 
must  necessarily  have  given  great  eclat  to  the  arms 
of  the  insurgents,  with  the  more  solid  advantages 
of  obtaining  large  supplies  both  of  arms  and  money, 
and  of  intercepting  the  communication  between  the 
Duke  of  Argyle  and  the  south.  It  is  also  probable 
that  Macintosh  might  have  some  expectation  of  an 
insurrection  taking  place  in  Edinburgh,  on  the  news 
of  his  approach.  But  whatever  were  his  hopes 
and  n»otives,  he  marched  with  his  small  force 
on  the  metropolis,  14th  October,  1715,  and  the 
movement  excited  the  most  universal  alarm. 

The  Lord  Provost,  a  gentleman  named  Camp- 
bell, w  as  a  man  of  sense  and  activity.  The  instant 
that  he  heard  of  the  Highlanders  having  arrived  at 
Haddington,  he  sent  information  to  the  Duke  of 
Argyle,  and  arming  the  city  guard,  trained  bauds, 
and  volunteers,  took  such  precautions  as  he  could 


17S  macintosh's  descent 

to  defend  the  city,  which,  though  surrounded  by  a 
high  wall,  was  far  from  being  tenable  even  against 
a  coup-de-main.  The  Duke  of  Argyle,  foreseeing 
all  the  advantages  which  the  insurgents  would  gain 
even  from  the  temporary  possession  of  the  capital, 
resolved  on  this,  as  on  other  occasions,  to  make  ac- 
tivity supply  the  want  of  numbers.  He  mounted 
two  hundred  infantry  soldiers  on  country  horses, 
and  uniting  them  with  three  hundred  chosen  dra- 
goons, placed  himself  at  their  head,  and  made  a 
forced  march  from  Stirling  to  relieve  Edinburgh. 
This  he  accomplished  with  such  rapidity, that  he  en- 
tered the  West  Port  of  Edinburgh  about  ten  o'clock 
at  night,  just  about  the  same  moment  that  ^lac 
Intosh  had  reached  the  place  where  Piershill  bar- 
racks are  now  situated,  within  a  mile  of  the  eastern 
gate  of  the  city.  Thus  the  metropolis,  v^hich  seem- 
ed to  be  a  prey  for  the  first  occupant,  was  saved  by 
the  promptitude  of  the  Duke  of  Argyle.  His  arri- 
val spread  universal  joy  among  the  friends  of  gov- 
ernment, who,  from  something  resembling  despair, 
passed  to  the  opposite  extremity  of  hope  and  tri- 
umph. The  town  had  been  reinforced  during  the 
day  by  various  parties  of  horse  militia  from  Ber- 
wickshire and  Mid-Lothian,  and  many  volunteers, 
whom  the  news  of  the  Duke  of  Argyle's  arrival 
greatly  augmented,  not  so  much  on  account  of  the 
number  which  attended  him,  as  of  the  general  con- 
fidence reposed  in  his  talents  and  character. 

The  advancing  enemy  also  felt  the  charm  com- 
municated by  the  Duke's  arrival ;  but  to  them  it 
conveyed  apprehension  and  dismay,  and  changed 
their  leader's  hopes  of  success  into  a  desire  to  pro- 


UPON    LOTHIAN.  179 


vide  for  the  safety  of  his  small  detachment,  respect- 
hig  which  he  was  probably  the  more  anxious  that 
the  number  of  the  Duke's  forces  were  in  all  likeli- 
hood exaggerated,  and  besides  consisted  chiefly  of 
cavalry,  respecting  whom  the  Highlanders  enter- 
tained at  that  time  a  superstitious  terror.  Moved 
by  such  considerations,  and  turning  off  the  road  to 
Edingburgh,  at  the  place  called  Jock's  Lodge,  Brig- 
adier Macintosh  directed  his  march  upon  Leith, 
which  he  entered  without  opposition.  In  the  prison 
of  that  place  he  found  the  forty  men  belonging  to  his 
own  detachment  who  had  been  taken  during  the 
passage,  and  who  were  now  set  at  liberty.  The 
Highlanders  next  took  possession  of  such  money 
a.id  provisions  as  they  found  in  the  Custom  House. 
After  these  preliminaries,  they  marched  across  the 
drawbridge,  and  occupied  the  remains  of  a  citadel, 
built  by  Oliver  Cromwell  during  the  period  of  his 
usurpation.  It  was  a  square  fort,  with  five  demi- 
bastions  and  a  ditch  ;  the  gates  were  indeed  de- 
molished, but  the  ramparts  were  tolerably  entire, 
and  the  Brigadier  lost  no  time  in  baricading  all 
accessible  places  with  beams,  planks,  carts,  and 
barrels,  filled  with  stones  and  other  similar  materi- 
als. The  vessels  in  the  harbour  supplied  them 
with  cannon,  which  they  planted  on  the  ramparts, 
and  prepared  themselves  as  well  as  circumstances 
admitted  for  a  desperate  defence. 

Early  next  morning  the  Duke  of  Argyle  present- 
■d  himself  before  the  fortified  post  of  the  High- 

rders,  with  his  three  hundred  dragoons,  two 
Hundred  infantry,  and  about  six  hundred  new-levi- 
ed men,  militia  and  Volunteers;  among    the  latter 


180  macintosh's  descl:^t 


class  were  seen  several  clergymeD,  who,  in  a  war 
of  this  nature,  did  not  consider  their  sacred  charac- 
ter inconsistent  with  assuming  arras.  The  Duke 
summoned  the  troops  who  occupied  the  citadel  to 
surrender,  under  the  penalty  of  high  treason,  and 
declared,  thatif  they  placed  him  under  the  necessi- 
ty of  bringing  up  cannon,  or  killed  any  of  his  men  in 
attempting  a  defence,  he  would  give  them  no  quar- 
ter. A  Highland  gentleman,  named  Kinackin, 
answered  resolutely  from  the  ramparts,  "  That  they 
laughed  at  his  summons  of  surrender — that  they 
were  ready  to  abide  his  assault ;  as  for  quarter,  they 
would  neither  give  nor  receive  it — and  if  he  thought 
he  could  force  their  position,  he  was  welcome  to 
try  the  experiment." 

The  Duke  having  received  this  defiance,  carefully 
reconnoitred  the  citadel,  and  found  the  most  impor- 
tant difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  proposed  assault. 
The  troops  must  have  advanced  two  hundred  yards 
before  arriving  at  the  defences,  and  during  all  that 
time  would  have  been  exposed  to  a  fire  from  an 
enemy  under  cover.  Many  of  those  who  must 
have  been  assailants  were  unacquainted  with  dis- 
cipline, and  had  never  seen  action  ;  the  Highland- 
ers, though  little  accustomed  to  exchange  the  fire 
of  musketry  in  the  open  field,  were  excellent 
marksmen  from  behind  walls,  and  their  swords  and 
daggers  were  likely  to  be  formidable  in  the  defence 
of  a  breach  or  a  barricade,  where  the  attack  must 
be  in  some  degree  tumultuary.  To  this  was  to  be 
added  the  Duke's  total  want  of  cannon  and  mor- 
tars, or  artillery-men  by  whom  they  could  be  man- 
aged.    All  these   reasons  induced  Argyle  to  post- 


I 


UPON    LOTHIAN.  1*^ 

•me  an  attack,  of  which  the  res^.c  was  so  uncer- 
an,  until  he  should  be  better  provided.  The  volun- 
teers were  very  anxious  for  an  attack ;  but  we  are 
merely  told,  by  the  reverend  historian  of  the  rebel- 
lion, that  when  they  were  given  to  understand  that 
the  post  of  honour,  viz.  the  right  of  leading  the  at- 
*ack,  was  their  just  right  as  volunteers,  it  made  them 
eartily  approve  of  the  Duke's  measure  in  defer- 
\\g   the  enterprise.     Argyle  therefore  retreated  to 
Edinburgh,  to  make  better  preparations  for  an  at- 
tack with  artillery  the  next  day. 

But  as  ]Mac  Intosh's  intention  of  seizing  on  the 
ipital   had   failed,    it  did  not   suit  his  purpose  to 
ude  in  the  vicinity.     He  left  the  citadel  of  Leith 
at  nine  o'clock,  and  conducted  his  men  in  the  most 
profound  silence  along  the  sands  or  Seaton  House, 
bout  ten  miles  from  Edinburgh,  a  strong  castle  be- 
iiging  to  the   Earl    of  Winton,    surrounded  by  a 
iiigh  wall.     Here  they  made  a  show  of  fortifying- 
themselves,  and    collecting   provisions,  as   if  they 
:tended  to  abide  for  some  time.      The  Duke  of 
vrgyle,  with  his  wonted  celerity,  made  preparations 
to  attack  Mac  Intosh  in  his  new  quarters.    He  sent 
to  the  camp  at  Stirling  for  artillery-men,  and  began 
to  G^et  ready  some  guns  iii  Edinburgh  Castle,  with 
which  he  proposed  to  aavance  to  Seaton,  and  dis- 
lodge  its  new  occupants.      But  his    purpose  was 
again    interrupted   by  express,  upon  express,    dis- 
patclied  from  Stirling  by  General   Whetham,  who 
commanded   in    the   Duke's    absence,  acquainting 
his  superior  with  the  unpleasing   information  that 
.  Mar,  with  his  whole  army,  was  advancing  towards 
Stirling,  trusting  to  have  an  opportunity  of  destroy- 
VOL.  I.  16 


182  MACIKTOSII'S    DEFEAT 

ing  the  few  troops  who  were  left  there,  and  which 
did  not  exceed  a  thousand  men. 

Upon  these  tidings  the  Duke,  leaving  two  hun- 
dred and  tifty  men  of  his  small  command  under  the 
order  of  General  Wightman,  to  prosecute  the  plan 
of  dislodging  the  Highlanders  from  their  strong- 
]iold  of  Seaton,  returned  in  all  haste,  with  the  small 
remainder  of  his  forces,  to  Stirling,  where  his  pre- 
sence was  much  called  for.  But  before  adverting 
to  events  which  took  place  in  that  quarter,  we  shall 
conduct  Mac  Intosh  and  his  detachment  some  days' 
journey  farther  on  their  progress. 

On  Saturday,  the  loth  of  October,  the  environs 
of  Seaton  House  were  reconnoitred  by  a  body  of 
dragoons  and  volunteers.  But  as  the  Highland- 
ers boldly  marched  out  to  skirmish,  the  party  from 
Edingburgh  thought  themselve  too  weak  to  hazard 
an  action,  and  retired  towards  the  city,  as  did  the 
rebels  to  their  garrison.  On  monday,  the  17th  of 
October,  the  demonstration  upon  Seaten  was  re- 
newed in  a  more  serious  manner.  Lord  Rothes, 
Lord  Torphichen,  and  other  officers,  marching 
against  the  house  with  three  hundred  volunteers, 
and  the  troops  which  had  been  left  by  the  Duke  of 
Argyle,  to  dislodge  Mac  Intosh.  But  neither  in  this 
third  attempt  was  it  found  prudent  to  attack  the  per- 
tinacious mountaineers,  as  indeed  a  repulse,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  capital,  must  necessarily  have 
been  attended  with  consequences  not  to  be  rashly 
risked.  The  troops  of  the  government,  therefore, 
returned  a  third  time  to  Edinburgh,  without  having 
further  engaged  with  the  enemy  than  by  a  few,  ex- 
changes of  shot. 


UPON    LOTHIAN.  183 

Mac  Iiitosh  did  not  consider  it  prudent  to  give 
his  opponent  an  opportunity  of  attacking  him  again 
in  his  present  position.  He  had  sent  a  letter  to 
General  Forster,  which,  reaching  the  gentlemen 
engaged  in  that  unadvised  expedition,  while  they 
were  deliberating  whether  they  should  not  abandon 
it  determined  them  to  remain  in  arms,  and  unite 
.emselves  with  those  Highlanders,  who  had  cros- 

d  the  Frith  at  such  great  risk  in  order  to  join  them. 

)rster  and  Kenmure,  therefore,  returned  an  kn- 
ver  to  Mac  Intosh's  communication,  proposing  to 
meet  his  forces  at  Kelso  or  Coldstream,  as  should 
be  most- convenient  for  him.  Such  letters  as  the 
Brigadier  had  received  from  Mar,  since  passing  the 
Forth,  as  well  as  the  tenor  of  his  former  and  origi- 
nal instructions,  directed  him  to  form  a  junction 
with  the  gentlemen  engaged  on  the  Borders ;  and 
he  accepted  accordingly  of  their  invitation,  and  as- 
signed Kelso  as  the  place  of  meeting.  His 
first  marcK  was  to  the  village  of  Longformachus, 
Avhich  he  reached  on  the  evening  of  the  19th  of 
October.  It  may  be  mentioned,  that,  in  the  course 
of  their  march,  they  passed  Hermandston,  the  seat 
of  Dr  Sinclair,  which  Mac  Intosh,  with  some  of 
the  old  vindictive  Highland  spirit,  was  extremely 
desirous  to  have  burned,  in  revenge  of  the  death  of 
vDung  Hepburn  of  Keith.  He  was  dissuaded  from 
this  extreme  course,  but  the  house  was  plundered 
by  Lord  Nairne's  Highlanders,  who  were  active 
agents  in  this  species  of  punishment.  Sir  Wil- 
liam Bennet  of  Grubet,  who  had  occupied  Kelso 
for  the  government,  with  some  few  militia  and  vol- 

iteers,  learning  that  fifteen   hundred  Highlanders 


184  JUNCTION    OF    MAC  INTOSH. 

were  advancing  against  him  from  the  eastward, 
while  five  or  six  hundred  horse,  to  which  number 
the  united  forces  of  Kenmure  and  Forster  might 
amount,  were  marching  downwards  from  the  Che- 
viot mountains,  relinquished  his  purpose  of  defend- 
ing Kelso  ;  and,  abandoning  the  barricades,  which 
he  had  made  for  that  purpose,  retired  to  Edinburgh 
u^ith  his  followers,  carrying  with  him  the  greater 
part  of  the  arms  which  he  had  provided. 

The  cavalry  of  Forster  and  Kenmure,  marching 
from  Wooler,  arrived  at  Kelso  a  few  hours  before 
the  Highlanders,  who  sat  out  on  the  same  morning 
from  Dunse.  The  Scottish  part  of  the  horse  march- 
ed through  Kelso  without  halting,  to  meet  with 
Macintosh  at  Ednam-bridge,  a  compliment  which 
they  conceived  due  to  the  gallantry  with  which, 
through  many  hazards,  the  Brigadier  and  his  High- 
landers had  advanced  to  their  succour.  The  uni- 
ted forces,  when  mustered  at  Kelso,  were  found  to 
amount  to  about  six  hundred  horse  and  fourteen 
hundred  foot,  for  Macintosh  had  lost  some  men  by 
desertion.  They  then  entered  the  town  in  triumph, 
and  possessed  themselves  of  such  arms  as  Sir  Wil- 
liam Bennet  had  left  behind  him.  They  praclaim- 
ed  James  VIII.  in  the  market-place  of  this  beauti- 
ful town,  and  attended  service  (the  ofiicers  at  least) 
in  the  Old  Abbey  Church,  where  a  non-juring  cler- 
gyman preached  a  sermon  on  hereditary  right,  the 
text  being  Deut.  xxi.  17,  The  right  of  the  first-horn 
is  his.  The  chiefs  then  held  a  general  council  on 
the  best  mode  of  following  out  the  purposes  of  their 
insurrection.  There  were  two  lines  of  conduct  to 
choose  betwixt,  one  of  wlncli  was  advocated  by  the 


1 


AND    FORSTER,    AT    KELSO.  185 


Scottish  gentlemen,  the  other  by  the  insurgents 
from  the  north  of  England. 

According  to  the  first  plan  of  operations,  it  was 
proposed  that  their  united  forces  should  move  west- 
ward along  the  Border,  occupying  in  their  way  the 
towns  of  Dumfries,  Ayr,  and  Glasgow  itself.  They 
expected  no  resistance  on  either  of  these  points, 
which  their  union  with  Mac  Intosh's  troops  might 
not  enable  them  to  overcome.  Arrived  in  the  west 
of  Scotland,  they  proposed  to  open  the  passes, 
which  were  defended  chiefly  by  militia  and  volun- 
teers, to  the  very  considerable  force  of  the  Argyle- 
shire  clans,  which  were  already  assembled  under 
General  Gordon.  With  the  Earl  of  Mar's  far  su- 
perior army  in  front,  and  with  the  force  of  Macin- 
tosh, Kenmure,  and  Forster  upon  his  left  flank  and 
in  his  rear,  it  was  conceived  impossible  that,  with 
all  his  abilities,  the  Duke  of  Argyle  could  persevere 
in  maintaining  his  important  post  at  Stirling ;  there 
was  every  chance  of  his  being  driven  entirely  out 
of  the  "ancient  kingdom,"  as  Scotland  was  fondly 
called. 

This  plan  of  the  campaign  had  two  recommenda- 
tions. In  the  first  place,  it  tended  to  a  concentra- 
>  tion  of  the  rebel  forces,  which,  separated  as  they 
were,  and  divided  through  the  kingdom,  had  hither- 
to been  either  checked  and  neutralized  like  that  of 
Mar  by  the  Duke  of  Argyle,  or  fairly  obliged  to  re- 
treat and  shift  for  safety  from  the  forces  of  the  gov- 
ernment, as  had  been  the  fate  of  Forster  and  Ken- 
mure.  Secondly,  the  basis  on  which  the  scheme 
rested  was  fixed  and  steady.  Mar's  army,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  Gordon  with  the  clans,  on  the  other, 
16* 


186  DIVIDED    COUNCILS    OF    THE 


"were  bodies  of  troops  existing  and  in  arms,  nor  was 
there  any  party  in  tlie  field  for  the  government,  of 
strength  adequate  to  prevent  their  forming  the  pro- 
posed junction. 

Notwithstanding  these  advantages,  the  English 
insurgents  expressed  the  strongest  wish  to  follow 
an  opposite  course,  and  carry  the  war  again  into 
England,  from  which  they  had  been  so  lately  obli- 
ged to  retreat.  Their  proposal  had  at  first  a  bold  and 
spirited  appearance,  and  might,  had  it  been  acted 
upon  with  heart  and  unanimity,  have  had  a  consid- 
erable chance  of  success.  The  dragoons  and  horse 
which  had  assembled  at  Newcastle  under  General 
Carpenter,  were  only  a  thousand  strong,  and  much 
fatigued  with  forced  marches.  Reinforced  as  the 
insurgents  were  with  Mac  Intosh  and  his  infantry, 
they  might  have  succeeded  by  a  sudden  march  in 
attacking  Carpenter  in  his  quarters,  or  fighting  him 
in  the  field ;  at  all  events,  their  great  superiority  of 
numbers  would  have  compelled  the  English  gene- 
ral either  to  hazard  an  action  at  very  great  disadvan- 
tage, or  to  retreat.  In  either  case,  the  Northum- 
brian gentlemen  would  have  remained  masters  of 
their  native  province,  and  might  have  made  them- 
selves masters  of  Newcastle,  and  interrupted  the 
coal  trade  ;  and  finally,  the  great  possessions  and 
influence  of  Lord  Derwentwater  and  others  would 
have  enabled  them  to  add  to  their  force  as  many  in- 
fantry as  they  might  find  means  of  arming,  without 
which,  the  gentry  who  were  in  arms  could  only  be 
considered  as  a  soul  without  a  body,  or  a  hilt  with- 
out a  blade.  But  Forster  and  his  friends  would 
not  agree  to  a  measure  which  had  so  much  to  recom- 


JACOBITES,    AT     KELSO.  187 


mend  it,  but  lost  time  in  empty  debates,  remaining 
at  Kelso  from  the  22d  to  the  27th  of  October,  until 
it  became  impossible  to  put  the  plan  in  execution. 
For  they  learned,  that  while  they  were  deliberating 
General  Carpenter  was  acting  ;  and  his  little  army, 
being  reinforced  and  refreshed,  was  now  advanced 
to  Wooler,  to  seek  them  out  and  give  them  battle. 

Forster  and  the  English  officers  then  insisted  on 
another  scheme,  which  should  still  make  England 
the  scene  of  the  campaign.  They  proposed  that, 
eluding  the  battle  which  General  Carpenter  seem- 
ed willing  to  offer,  they  should  march  westward 
along  the  middle  and  west  Borders  of  Scotland,  till 
they  could  turn  southward  into  Lancashire,  where 
they  assured  their  Scottish  confederates  that  their 
friends  were  ready  to  rise  in  numbers,  to  the  amount 
of  twenty  thousand  men  at  least,  which  would  be 
sufficient  to  enable  them  to  march  to  London  in  de- 
fiance of  all  opposition. 

Upon  this  important  occasion  the  insurgents 
gave  a  decided  proof  of  that  species  of  credulity 
which  disposes  men  to  receive,  upon  very  slight 
evidence,  such  tidings  as  flatter  their  hopes  and 
feelings,  and  which  induced  Addison  to  term  the 
Jacobites  of  that  period  a  race  of  men  who  live  in 
a  dream,  daily  nourished  by  fiction  and  delusion, 
and  whom  he  compares  to  the  obstinate  old  knight 
in  Rabelais,  who  every  morning  swallowed  a  chim- 
'  era  for  breakfast. 

The  Scottish  gentlemen,  and  Lord  Winton  in 
particular,  were  not  convinced  by  the  reasoning  of 
their  Southern  friends,  nor  do  they  appear  to  have 
been  participant  of  their  sanguine  hopes  of  a  gen- 
eral rising  in  Lancashire  ;  accordingly,  they  strong- 


188       THE  JACOBITES,  AT  KELSO. 

ly  opposed  the  moTement  in  that  direction.  All 
therefore,  which  the  rebels,  in  their  divided  counsels 
were  able  to  decide  upon  with  certainty,  was  to 
naove  westward  along  the  Border,  a  course  which 
might  advance  them  equally  on  their  road,  whither 
they  should  finally  determine  to  take  the  route  to 
the  west  of  Scotland  or  to  Lancashire.  We  must 
refer  to  a  future  part  of  this  history  for  the  progress 
and  ultimate  fate  of  this  ill-starred  exoedition. 


[  189  ] 


CHAP.    IX. 


The  Earl  of  Mar  remains  inactive  at  Perth — his  Resolution  to 
march  upon  Stirling — his  Advance,  Abandonment  of  the  Plan, 
and.  Return  to  Perth— Surprisal  of  a  Jacobite  Detachment  at 
Dunferline — Argyle  joined  by  Reinforcements — Mar  also  joined 
by  Seaforth,  General  Gordon,  with  the  Clans  of  the  West,  and 
Breadalbane — Both  Armies,  being  now  fully  reinforced,  have  no 
further  pretext  for  postponing  Active  Operations,  a 

We  must  now  return  to  the  Earl  of  Mar's  army, 
which  must  be  considered  as  the  centre  and  focus 
of  the  insurrection.  Since  his  occupation  of  Perth 
Lord  Mar  had  undertaken  little  which  had  the  ap- 
pearance of  military  enterprise.  His  possession 
even  of  Fifeshire  and  Kinross  had  been  in  some  de- 
gree contested  by  the  supporters  of  government. 
The  Earl  of  Rothes,  with  a  few  dragoons  and  vol- 
unteers, had  garrisoned  his  own  house  of  Lesly, 
near  Falkland,  and  was  active  in  harassing  those 
parties  of  horse  which  Mar  sent  into  the  country  to 
proclaim  James  VHL,  and  levy  the  cess  and  pub- 
lic taxes.  Upon  one  of  these  occasions  (28th  Sep- 
;«.  tember)  he  surprised  Sir  Thomas  Bruce,  while  in 
'i^:  the  act  of  making  the  proclamation  in  the  town  of 
1  Kinross,  and  carried  him  off  a  prisoner.  The  Earl 
of  Rothes  retained  possession  of  his  garrison  till 
INIar's  army  became  very  strong,  when  he  was  ob- 
liged to  withdraw  it.  But  Mar  continued  to  expe- 
rience occasional  checks,  even  in  the  military  prom- 
enades in  which  he  employed  the  gentlemen  who 


190      REVIEW    OF    THE    TROOPS    AT    PERTH. 

composed  his  cavalry.  It  is  true,  these  generally 
arose  from  nothing  worse  than  the  loose  discipline 
observed  by  troops  of  this  condition,  their  careless- 
ness in  mounting  guards,  or  in  other  similar  duties, 
to  which  their  rank  and  habits  of  life  had  not  accus- 
tomed them. 

The  only  important  manoeuvre  attempted  by  the 
Earl  of  Mar,  was  the  expedition  across  the  Firth 
under  Brigadier  Macintosh,  of  which  the  details 
are  given  in  the  last  chapter.  Its  consequences 
were  such  as  to  force  the  General  himself  into  mea- 
sures of  immediate  activity,  by  which  he  had  not 
hitherto  seemed  much  disposed  to  distinguish 
himself,  but  which  became  now  inevitable. 

It  happened  that,  on  the  s-econd  day  after  Mac- 
intosh's departure  from  Fife,  a  general  review  of 
the  troops  in  Perth  was  held  in  the  vicinity  of  that 
town,  and  the  Earl  MarischaPs  brother,  James, 
(afterwards  the  celebrated  Field-Marshal  Keith,) 
galloped  along  the  line,  disseminating  some  of 
those  favourable  reports  which  were  the  growth  of 
the  day,  and,  as  one  succeeded  as  fast  as  another 
dropped,  might  be  termed  the  fuel  which  supplied 
the  fire  of  the  insurrection,  or  rather,  perhaps  the 
bellows  which  kept  it  in  excitation.  The  apocry- 
phal tiding  of  this  day  were,  that  Sir  William 
Wyndham  had  surprised  Bristol  for  King  James  III. 
and  that  Sir  William  Blacket  had  taken  both  Ber- 
wick and  Newcastle — intelligence  received  by  the 
hearers  with  acclamations,  which  if  it  had  been 
true,  were  no  less  than  it  deserved. 

But  from  these  visions  the  principal  persons  in 
the  insurrection  were  soon  recalled  to  sad  realities. 


THE    EARL    OF    MAR's   ADVANCE.  191 


A  meeting  of  the  noblemen,  chiefs  of  clans,  and 
commanders  of  corps,  was  summoned,  and  particu- 
lar care  taken  to  exclude  all  intruders  of  inferior 
rank.  To  this  species  of  council  of  war  Mar  an- 
nounced, with  a  dejected  countenance,  that  Briga- 
dier Mac  Intosh,  having  contrary  to  his  orders, 
thrown  himself  into  the  citadel  of  Leith,  was  inves- 
ted there  by  the  Duke  of  Argyle.  He  laid  before 
them  the  letter  he  had  received  from  the  Brigadier, 
which  stated  that  a  few  hours  would  determine  his 
fate,  but  that  he  was  determined  to  do  his  duty  to 
the  last.  The  writer  expressed  his  apprehension 
that  cannons  and  mortars  were  about  to  be  brought 
against  him.  The  Earl  of  Mar  said  that  he  gave 
the  detachment  up  for  lost,  but  suggested  it  might 
be  possible  to  operate  a  diversion  in  its  favour,  by 
making  a  feint  towards  Stirling.  The  proposal  was 
seconded  by  General  Hamiton,  who  said  that  such 
a  movement  might  possibly  do  good,  and  could  pro- 
duce no  harm. 

The  movement  being  determined  upon,  Mar 
marched  with  a  large  body  of  foot  to  Auchterarder, 
and  pushed  two  squadrons  of  horse  as  far  forward 
as  Dunblane,  which  had  the  appearance  of  a  med- 
itated attack  upon  Stirling.  It  is  said  to  have  been 
the  opinion  of  General  Hamilton,  that  the  foot 
should  have  taken  possession  of  a  defile  which  con- 
tinues the  road  from  the  northern  end  of  Stirling 
bridge  through  some  low  and  marshy  ground,  and 
is  called  the  Long  Causeway.  The  rebels  being 
in  possession  of  this  long  and  narrow  pass,  it 
would  have  been  as  difficult  for  the  Duke  of  Ar- 
gyle to  have  got  at  them  as  it  was  for  them  to  reach 
him.     And   the  necessity  of  guarding  the  bridge 


192  mar's    advance    upon    STIRLING. 


itself  with  the  small  force  he  possessed,  must  have 
added  to  Argyle's  difficulties,  aud  alforded  General 
Gordon,  and  the  western  clans  who  were  by  this 
time  expected  to  be  at  Dunbarton,  full  opportunity 
to  have  advanced  on  Stirling  by  Drymen  and  the 
Loch  of  Monteith,  keeping  possession,  during  their 
whole  march,  of  high  and  hilly  grounds  fit  for  the 
operations  of  Highlanders.  In  this  manner  the 
Duke  of  Argyle  would  have  been  placed  between 
two  fires,  and  must  have  run  the  greatest  risk  of 
being  cut  off  from  the  reinforcements  which-  he 
anxiously  expected  from  Ireland,  as  well  as  from 
the  west  of  Scotland. 

Against  this  very  simple  and  effective  plan  of 
the  campaign,  Mar  had  nothing  to  object  but  the 
want  of  provisions  ;  in  itself  a  disgrace  to  a  Gen- 
eral who  had  been  quartered  so  long  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  Carse  of  Gowrie,  and  at  the  end  of 
autumn,  when  the  farmyards  are  full,  without  hav- 
ing secured  a  quantity  of  meal  adequate  to  the 
maintenance  of  his  army  for  a  few  days.  General 
Hamilton  combated  this  objection,  and  even  de- 
monstrated that  provisions  were  to  be  had  ;  and 
Mar  apparently  acquiesced  in  his  reasoning.  But 
having  come  with  the  infantry  of  his  army  as  far  as 
Ardoch,  the  Earl  stopped  short,  and  refused  to  per- 
mit the  movement  on  the  Long  Causeway  to  be 
made,  alleging  that  Marischal  and  Linlitgow  had 
decided  against  the  design.  It  seems  probable, 
that,  as  the  affair  drew  to  a  crisis,  INIar,  the  more 
that  military  science  was  wanted,  felt  his  own  ig- 
norance the  more  deeply,  and,  afraid  to  attempt 
any  course  by  which  he  might  liaAe  controlled  cir- 
cumstances, adopted  every  mode  of  postponing  a 


MAR'S    RETREAT    TO    PERTH.  193 


decision,  in  the  hope  they  might,   of  themselves, 
become  favourable  in  the  long  run. 

In  the  meantime,  the  news  of  Mar's  march  to 
Auchterarder  and  Dunblane  had,  as  we  have  else- 
where noticed,  recalled  the  Duke  of  Argyle  to  his 
camp  at  Stirling,  leaving  a  few  of  his  cavalry,  with 
the  militia  and  volunteers,  to  deal  with  ac  Intosh 
and  his  nimble  Highlanders  ;  who  escaped  out  of 
their  hands,  first  by  their  defence  of  Seaton,  and 
then  by  their  march  to  Kelso.  Argyle  instantly 
took  additional  defensive  measures  against  Mar,  by 
barricading  the  bridge  of  Stirling,  and  breaking 
down  that  which  crosses  the  Teith  at  the  village  of 
Doune.  But  his  presence  so  near  his  antagonist 
was  sufficient  to  induce  the  Earl  of  Mar  to  retreat 
with  his  whole  force  to  his  former  quarters  at  Perth, 
and  wait  the  progress  of  events. 

These  were  now  approaching  to  a  crisis.  With 
Mac  Intosh's  detachment  Mar  had  now  no  concern  ; 
they  were  to  pursue  their  good  or  evil  destiny  apart. 
The  Earl  of  Mar  had  also  received  a  disagreeable 
hint,  that  the  excursions  by  which  he  used  to  sup- 
ply himself  with  funds  as  well  as  to  keep  up  the 
terror  of  his  arms,  were  not  without  inconvenience. 
A  detachment  of  about  fore-score  horse  and  three 
hundred  Highland  foot,  chiefly  followers  of  the 
Marquis  of  Huntly,  was  sent  to  Dunfermline  to 
raise  the  cess.  The  direct  road  from  Perth  to 
Dunfermline  is  considerably  shorter  but  the  troops 
had  ofiders  to  take  the  rout  by  Castle-Campbell, 
which  prolonged  the  journey  considerably,  for  no 
apparei  it  purpose  save  to  insult  the  Duke  of  Argyle's 
garrison  there,  by  marching  in  their  view.     When 

VOL.    I.  17 


194    SURPRISAL  OF  A  JACOBITE  PARTY. 


the  detachment  arrived  at  Dunfermlin,  Gordon  of 
Glenbucket,  who  c.-mmanded  the  Highlanders, 
conducted  them  into  the  old  Abbey,  which  is 
strongly  situated,  an^  there  placed  a  sentinel.  He 
took  up  his  own  quarters  in  the  town,  and  placed  a 
a  sentinel  there  also.  The  commander  of  the 
horse.  Major  Graham,  took  the  ineffectual  precau- 
tion of  doing  the  same  at  the  bridge,  but  used  no 
farther  means  to  avoid  surprise.  The  gentlemen  ot 
the  squadron  sought  each  his  personal  accommo- 
dation, with  their  usual  neglect  of  discipline,  nei- 
ther knowing  with  accuracy  where  they  were  to 
find  their  horses,  nor  fixing  on  any  alarm-post  where 
they  were  to  rendezvous.  Their  officers  sat  down 
to  a  bottle  of  wine.  During  all  this  scene  of  con- 
fusion, the  Honourable  Colonel  (afterwards  Lord) 
Cathcart,  was  lying  without  the  town,  with  a  strong 
party  of  cavalry,  and  obtaining  regular  information 
from  his  spies  within  it. 

About  live  in  the  morning  of  the  24th  of  Octo- 
ber, he  entered  the  town  with  two  parties  of  his 
dragoons,  one  mounted  and  the  other  on  foot.  The 
surprisal  was  complete,  and  the  Jacobite  cavaliers 
suffered  in  proportion ;  several  were  killed  and 
wounded,  and  about  twenty  made  prisoners,  whose 
loss  was  more  felt,  as  they  were  all  gentlemen, 
and  some  of  them  coiviiderable  proprietors.  The 
assailants  lost  no  time  in  their  enterprise,  and  re- 
treated as  speedily  as  they  entered.  The  neighbor- 
hood of  the  Highland  infantry  in  the  Abbey  was  a 
strong  reason  for  dispatch.  This  slight  aff'air  seem- 
ed considerable  in  a  war  which  had  been  as  yet  so 
little  marked  by  military  incident.    The  appearance 


JACOBITE  SONGS  AND  PASQUILS.    195 

of  the  prisoners  at  Stiriing,  and  the  list  of  their 
names,  gave  eclat  to  the  Duke  of  Argyle's  tactics, 
and  threw  disparagement  on  those  of  Mar.  On  the 
other  side,  stories  were  circulated  at  Perth  of  the 
loss  which  Cathcart  had  sustained  in  the  action, 
with  rumours  of  men  buried  in  the  night,  and  horses 
returned  to  Stirling  without  their  riders.  This  ac- 
count, however  fabulous,  was  received  with  credit 
even  by  those  who  were  engaged  at  Dunfermline  ; 
for  the  confusion  having  been  general,  no  one 
knew  what  was  the  fate  of  his  comrade.  But,  in 
very  deed,  the  whole  return  of  casualties  on  Colo- 
nel Cathcart's  side  amounted  to  a  dragoon  hurt  in 
the  cheek,  and  a  horse  wounded.  This  little  affair 
was  made  the  subject  of  songs  and  pasquils  in  the 
army  at  Perth,  which  increased  the  Marquis  of 
Huntly's  disgust  at  the  enterprise. 

By  this  time  three  regiments  of  infantry,  and 
Evans's  dragoons,  had  joined  the  Duke  of  Argyle, 
who  now  felt  himself  strong  enough  to  make  detach- 
ments, without  the  fear  of  weakening  his  own  po- 
sition. A  battalion  of  foot  was  sent  to  Kilsythe, 
along  with  a  detachment  of  dragoons,  who  were  to 
watch  the  motions  of  the  troops  of  Forster  and 
Kenmure,  in  case  the  whole,  or  any  part  of  them, 
should  resolve  to  penetrate  into  the  west  of  Scotland. 

The  Earl  of  Mar  was  also  on  the  point  of  being 
joined  by  the  last  reinforcements  which  he  could 
expect,  the  non-arrival  of  which  had  hitherto  been 
the  cause,  or  at  least  the  apology,  for  his  inac- 
tivity. The  various  causes  of  delay  had  been  at 
length  removed  in  the  following  manner.  Seaforth, 
it  must   be  remembered,  was  confronted   by  Lord 


196  THE    EARL    OF    MAR  JOINED    BY 

Sutherland  with  his  own  following,  and  the  Whig 
clans  of  Grant,  Monroe,  Ross,  and  others.  But 
about  the  same  time  the  Earl  of  Seaforth,  was 
joined  by  Sir  Donald  Mac  Donald  of  Skye,  with 
seven  hundred  of  his  own  clan,  and  as  many  Mac 
Kinons,  Chisholms,  and  others,  as  raised  the  to- 
tal number  to  about  four  thousand  men.  The  Earl 
of  Sutherland,  finding  this  force  so  much  stronger 
than  what  he  was  able  to  bring  against  it,  retreat- 
ed to  the  Bonar,  a  strait  of  the  sea  dividing  Ross- 
shire  from  Sutherland,  and  there  passed  to  his  own 
side  of  the  ferry.  Seaforth,  now  unopposed,  ad- 
vanced to  Inverness,  and  after  leaving  a  garrison 
there,  marched  to  Perth,  to  join  the  Earl  of  Mar, 
to  whose  insurrectionary  army  his  troops  made  a 
formidable  addition. 

The  clans  of  the  West  were  the  only  reinforce- 
ments which  Mar  had  now  to  expect ;  but  these 
were  not  only  considerable  from  their  numbers,  but 
claimed  a  peculiar  fame  in  arms  even  over  the  other 
Highlanders,  both  from  their  zeal  for  the  Jacobite 
cause,  and  their  distinguished  bravery.  But  Mar 
had  clogged  General  Gordon,  who  was  to  bring  up 
this  part  of  his  forces,  with  a  commission  which 
would  detain  him  some  time  in  Argyleshire.  His 
instructions  directed  him  especially  to  take  and 
garrison  the  Castle  of  Inverary,  the  principal  seat 
of  the  Duke  of  Argyle.  The  clans,  particularly 
those  or  Stewart  of  Appin  and  Cameron  of  Lochiel, 
though  opposed  to  the  Duke  in  political  principles, 
respected  his  talents,  and  had  a  high  regard  for  his 
person  as  an  individual,  and  therefore  felt  reluc- 
tance at  entering  upon  a  personal  quarrel  with  him 


\ 


SEAFORTH  AND  GENERAL  GORDON.    197 

by  attacking  his  castle.  These  chiefs  hung  back 
accordingly,  and  delayed  joining.  When  Glen- 
garry and  Clanronald  had  raised  their  clans,  they 
had  fewer  scruples.  During  this  time,  Campbell 
of  Finnab  was  intrusted  with  the  difficult  task  of 
keeping  the  assailants  in  play  until  the  Duke  of 
Argyle  should  receive  his  expected  reinforcements 
from  Ireland.  He  was  soon  joined  by  the  Earl  of 
Islay,  the  Duke's  younger  brother.  By  the  as- 
sistance of  Sir  James  Campbell  of  Auchinbreck 
about  a  thousand  men  were  assembled  to  defend 
Inverary,  when  four  or  five  thousand  appeared  in 
arms  before  it.  A  sort  of  treaty  was  entered  into, 
by  which  the  insurgent  clans  agreed  to  withdraw 
from  the  country  of  Argyle  ;  with  which  purpose, 
descending  Strathfillan,  they  marched  towards 
Castle-Drummond,  which  is  in  the  vicinity  of  Perth 
and  within  an  easy  march  of  Mar's  head-quarters. 

One  important  member  of  the  insurrection  must 
also  be  mentioned.  This  was  the  Earl  of  Breadal- 
bane,  the  same  unrelenting  statesman  who  was  the 
author  of  the  Massacre  of  Glencoe.  He  had  been 
employed  by  King  William  in  1689  to  achieve,  by 
dint  of  money,  the  settlement  and  pacification  of 
the  Highlands  ;  and  now,  in  his  old  age,  he  imag- 
ined his  interest  lay  in  contribution  to  disturb  them. 
When  cited  to  appear  at  Edinburgh  as  a  suspected 
person,  he  procured  a  pathetic  attestation  under  the 
hand  of  a  physician  and  clergymen,  in  which  the 
Earl  was  described  as  an  infirm  man,  overwhelm- 
ed with  all  the  evils  that  wait  on  old  age.  None 
of  his  infirmities,  however,  prevented  him  from  at- 
tending the  Earl  of  Mar's  summons,  on  the  very 
17* 


198  MAR   JOINED    BY    THE 


day  after  the  certificate  is  dated.  Bread albane  is 
supposed  to  have  received  considerable  sums  of 
money  from  the  Earl  of  Mar,  who  kne^y  the  only 
terms  on  which  he  could  hope  for  his  favour.  But 
for  a  long  time  the  wily  Earl  did  nothing  decisive, 
and  it  was  believed  that  he  entertained  a  purpose  of 
going  to  Stirling,  and  xeconciling  himself  with  the 
Duke  of  Argyle,  the  head  of  the  elder  branch  of 
his  house.  This,  however,  Breadalbane  did  not 
do  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  appeared  in  the  town  of 
Perth,  where  the  singular  garb  and  peculiar  man- 
ners of  this  extraordinary  old  chief,  attracted  gen- 
eral attention.  He  possessed  powers  of  satirical 
observation  in  no  common  degree  ;  and  seemed  ta 
laugh  internally  at  whatever  he  saw,  which  he  con- 
sidered as  ridiculous,  but  without  suffering  hi& 
countenance  to  betray  his  sentiments,  except  to  ve- 
ry close  observers.  Amidst  the  various  difficulties, 
of  the  insurgents,  his  only  advice  to  them  was,  ta 
procure  a  printing  press,  and  lose  no  time  in  issuing 
gazettes. 

Mar  took  the  hint,  whether  given  in  jest  or  earn- 
est. He  sent  to  Aberdeen  for  a  printing  press,  in 
order  to  lose  no  time  in  diffusing  intelligence  more 
widely  by  that  comprehensive  organ  of  information. 
It  was  placed  under  the  management  of  Robert 
Freebairn,  one  of  the  printers  for  the  late  Queen 
Anne,  whose  principles  had  led  him  to  join  the  in- 
surgent army.  He  was  chiefly  employed  in  ex- 
tending by  his  art  the  delusions  through  means  of 
which  the  insurrection  had  been  originally  excited, 
and  was  in  a  great  measure  kept  afloat.  It  is  a 
strong   example   of  this,  that  while  Mar  actually 


EARL    OF    BREADALBANE.  199 

knew  nothing  of  the  fate  of  Forster  and  Kenmure, 
with  the  auxiliary  party  of  Highlanders  under  Mac- 
intosh ;  yet  it  was  boldly  published  that  they  were 
masters  of  Newcastle,  and  carried  all  before  them, 
and  that  the  Jacobites  around  London  had  taken 
arms  in  such  numbers,  that  King  George  had  found 
it  necessary  to  retire  from  the  metropolis. 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  Earl  of  Breadalbane 
was  so  frank  in  affording  the  rebels  his  military 
support,  which  was  very  extensive  and  powerful, 
as  in  imparting  his  advice  how  to  make  an  impres- 
sion on  the  public  mind  by  means  of  the  press. 
His  own  age  excused  him  from  taking  the  field  ; 
.and  it  is  probable,  his  experience  and  sagacious  ob- 
servation discovered  little  in  their  counsels  which 
promised  a  favourable  result  to  their  enterprise, 
^hough  supported  certainly  by  a  very  considerable 
ibrce  in  arms.  A  body  of  his  clan,  about  four  or 
ifive  hundred  strong,  commanded  by  the  Earl's  kins- 
man, Campbell  of  Glendarule,  joined  the  force 
under  General  Gordon ;  but  about  four  hundred 
who  had  apparently  engaged  in  the  enterprise 
against  Inverary,  and  were  embodied  for  that  pur- 
pose, dispersed  and  returned  to  their  own  homes 
afterwards  without  joining  Mar. 

The  whole  force  being  now  collected  on  both 
sides,  it  seemed  inevitable,  that  the  clouds  of  civil 
war  which  had  been  so  long  lowering  on  the  hori 
zon,  should  now  burst  in  storm  and  tempest,  on  the 
devoted  realm  of  Scotland. 


[  200  ] 


CHAP.  X. 


Motives  of  the  Earl  of  Mar  for  Undertaking  the  Insurrection — 
Causes  which  devolved  the  Command  of  the  Army  upon  him — 
Interception  of  Supplies  of  Arms  and  Ammunition  destined  for 
the  Jacobite  Army— Addresses  to  the  Chevalier  de  St  George 
and  the  Duke  of  Orleans  sent  from  the  Army  at  Perth — Dissatis- 
faction among  some  of  the  Principal  Men  in  Mar's  Army — Plana 
of  Mar — March  of  3Iar  from  Perth,  and  of  Argyle  from'  Stirling 
—the  Armies  come  in  sight  of  each  other  near  Dunblane---Mar's 
Council  of  War — Battle  of  Sheriffmuir 


I  HATE  delayed  till  this  point  in  the  Scottish 
history  some  attempt  to  investigate  the  causes  and 
conduct  of  the  Rebellion,  and  to  explain,  if  possi- 
ble, the  supineness  of  the  Insurgent  General  and 
Chiefs,  who,  having  engaged  in  an  attempt  so  des- 
perate, and  raised  forces  so  considerable,  should 
yet,  after  the  lapse  of  two  months,  have  advanced 
little  farther  in  their  enterprise  than  they  had  done 
in  the  first  week  after  its  commencement. 

If  we  review  the  Earl  of  Mar's  conduct  from  be- 
ginning to  end,  we  are  led  to  the  conclusion,  that 
the  insurrection  of  1715  was  as  hastily  as  rashly 
undertaken.  It  does  not  appear  that  Mar  was  in 
communication  on  the  subject  which  the  court  of 
the  Chevalier  de  St  George  previous  to  Queen 
Anne's  death.  That  event  found  him  at  liberty  to 
recommend  himself  to  the  favour  of  King  George, 
and  show  his  influence  with  the  Highland  chiefs  by 
procuring  an  address  of  adhesion  from  them,  of  a 


# 


MAR   UNDERTAKING   THE    INSURRECTION.   201 

tenor  as  loyal  as  his  own.  These  offers  of  service 
being  rejected,  as  we  have  already  said,  in  a  harsh 
and  an  affronting  manner,  made  the  fallen  minister 
conclude  that  his  ruin  was  determined  on  ;  and  his 
private  resentment,  which  in  other  circumstances, 
would  have  failed  to  the  ground  ineffectual  and 
harmless,  lighted  unhappily  amongst  those  combus- 
tibles, which  the  general  adherence  to  the  exiled 
family  had  prepared  in  Scotland. 

When  Mar  arrived  in  Fifeshire  from  London,  it 
was  reported  that  he  was  possessed  of  £100,000 
in  money, — instructions  from  the  Pretender,  under 
his  own  hand,  and  a  commission  appointing  him 
Lieutenant  General,   and    commander-in-Chief  of 
his  Forces  in  Scotland.  But  though  these  rumours 
were  scattered  in  the  public  ear,  better  accounts  al- 
lege, that  in  the  commencement  of  the  undertaking, 
Mar  did  not  pretend  to  assume  any  authority  over 
the  other  noblemen  of  his  own  rank,  or  produce  any 
other  token  from  the  Chevalier  de  St  George,  than 
his  portrait.     A  good  deal  of  pains  were  taken  to 
parade  a  strong-box,  said  to  enclose  a  considerable 
sum  of  money,   belonging  to  the  Earl  of  Mar  ;  but 
it  was  not  believed  to  contain  treasure  to  the  amount 
of  more  than  £3000,  if,  indeed  it  held  so  much.    As 
to  the  important  point  of  a  General  to  command  in 
chief,  the  scheme,  when  originally  contemplated  at 
the  Court  of  St  Germains,  turned  upon  the  Duke 
of  Ormond's  landing  in  England,  and  the  Duke  of 
Berwick  in  Scotland,  whose  well-known  talents 
were  to  direct  the  whole  affair.     After  commencing 
his  insurrection,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  Mar 
i\i(\  the  utmost,  by  his  agents  in  Lorraine,  to  engage 


202  THE    JACOBITE    ARMY. 

the  favourable  opinion  of  the  Chevalier,  and  the 
unexpected  success  of  his  enterprise,  so  far  as  it 
had  gone,  and  the  great  power  he  had  been  able  to 
assemble,  were  all  calculated  to  recommend  him 
to  confidence.  In  the  meantime,  it  w^as  necessary 
there  should  be  a  General  to  execute  the  duties  of 
the  office  ad  interim,  Mar  offered,  as  I  have  told 
you,  the  command  to  the  Duke  of  Athole,  who  re- 
fused to  be  connected  with  the  affair.  Huntly,  from 
his  power  and  rank  in  possession  and  expectation, 
might  have  claimed  the  supreme  authority,  but  his 
religion  was  an  obstacle.  Seaforth  lay  distant,  and 
was  late  in  coming  up.  The  claim  of  these  great 
nobles  being  set  aside,  there  was  nothing  so  natural 
as  that  Mar  himself  should  assume  the  command  of 
an  insurrection,  which  would  never  have  existed 
without  his  instigation.  He  was  acceptable  to  the 
Highlanders,  as  having  been  the  channel  through 
which  the  bounty  of  the  late  Queen  Anne  had  been 
transmitted  to  them ;  and  had  also  partisans,  from 
Lis  liberality  to  certain  of  the  Lowland  nobles 
who  had  joined  him,  whose  estate  and  revenues 
were  not  adequate  to  their  rank,  a  circumstance 
which  might  be  no  small  cause  for  their  rushing  in- 
to so  ruinous  an  undertaking.  Thus  Mar  assumed 
the  general's  truncheon  which  chance  offered  to  his 
hand,  because  there  was  no  other  who  could  pre- 
tend to  it.* 

Like  most  persons  in  his  situation,  he  was  not  in- 
clined to  distrust  his  own  capacity  for  using  to  ad- 
vantage the  power  which  he  had  almost  fortuitous- 
ly become  possessed  of;  or,  if  he  nourished  any 
doubt  upon  this  eu-^joct,  he  migli4  consider  his  mill- 


APPOINTMENT    OF    MAR    AS    GENERAL. 


tary  charge  to  be  but  temporary,  since,  from  the 
whole  tenor  of  his  conduct,  it  appearse  he  expected 
from  France  some  person  whose  trade  had  been  war, 
and  to  whom  he  might  with  honour  resign  his  office . 
Such  an  expectation  may  account  for  the  care  with 
which  the  Jacobites'  commander  abstained  from  of- 
fensive operations,  and  for  his  anxious  desire  to 
augment  his  army  to  the  highest  point,  rather  than 
to  adventure  it  upon  the  most  promising  enterprise. 

It  is  probable  Mar  was  encouraged  to  persevere 
in  his  military  authority,  in  which  he  must  have  met 
with  so'me  embarrassment,  when  he  found  himself 
confirmed  in  it  by  Ogilvie  of  Boyne,  and  especial 
messenger  from  the  Chevalier  de  St  George,  who, 
greatly  flattered  by  the  favourable  state  of  affairs 
in  Scotland,  conferred  upon  the  Earl  of  Mar  in  form, 
that  command,  which  he  had  so  long  exercised  in 
point  of  fact,  and  it  was  said,  brought  a  patent,  rais- 
ing him  to  the  dignity  of  Duke  of  Mar.  Of  the 
last  honour,  little  was  known,  but  the  commission 
of  Mar  as  General  was  read  at  the  head  of  every 
corps  engaged  in  the  insurrection. 

It  might  be  matter  of  wonder  that  the  vessel 
which  brought  over  Mr  Ogilvie,  the  bearer  of  this 
commission,  had  not  been  freighted  with  men,  mon- 
ey, or  provisions.  The  reason  appears  to  have 
been,  that  the  Chevalier  de  St  George  had  previ- 
ously expended  all  the  funds  he  could  himself  com- 
mand, or  which  he  could  borrow  from  foreign  courts 
favourable  to  his  title,  in  equipping  a  considerable 
number  of  vessels  designed  to  sail  from  Havre-de- 
Grace  and  Dieppe,  with  large  quantities  of  arms 
and  ammunition.    But  the  Earl  of  Stair,  having  spe- 


204  ADDRESSES    TO    THE    CHEVALIER 


dily  discovered  the  destination  of  these  supplies,  re- 
monstrated with  the  Court  of  France  upon  proceed- 
ings so  inconsistent  with  the  treaty  of  Utrecht ;  and 
Sir  George  Byng,  with  a  squadron  of  men-of-war, 
blockaded  the  ports  of  France,  with  the  purpose  of 
attacking  the  vessels  if  they  should  put  to  sea.  The 
Regent  Duke  of  Orleans  immediately  gave  orders 
to  the  inspectors  of  naval  affairs  to  prevent  the  arm- 
ing and  sailing  of  the  vessels  intended  for  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Chevalier  de  St  George.  Thus  the 
supplies  designed  for  the  insurgents  were  intercept- 
ed, and  the  whole  expense  which  had  been'laid  out 
upon  the  projected  expedition  was  entirely  lost. 
This  affords  a  satisfactory  reason  why  the  exiled 
Prince  could  send  little  to  his  partisans  in  Scotland 
unless  in  the  shape  of  fair  words  and  commissions. 
In  the  meantime,  the  Earl  of  Mar,  and  the  nobles 
and  gentlemen  embarked  in  his  enterprise,although 
disappointed  in  these  sanguine  expectations  under 
which  it  had  been  undertaken,  and  in  finding  that 
the  death  of  Louis  XIV.,  and  the  prudence  of  his 
successor  in  power,  would  deprive  them  of  all  hope 
of  foreign  assistance,  were  yet  desirous  to  receive 
that  species  of  encouragement  which  might  be  de- 
rived from  seeing  the  Chevalier  de  St  George  him- 
self at  the  head  of  the  army,  which  they  had  drawn 
together  in  his  name  and  quarrel.  An  address 
therefore  was  made  to  King  James  VIIL,  as  he 
was  termed,  praying  him  to  repair  to  Scotland,  and 
to  encourage,  by  his  personal  presence,  the  flame 
of  loyalty,  which  was  represented  as  breaking  out 
in  every  part  of  that  kingdom,  pledging  the  lives  and 
honour  of  the  subscribers  for  his  personal  security, 


and  insisting  on  the  favourable  eflect  likely  to  be 


J 


AND  THE  DUKE  OF  ORLEANS.       205 


produced  upon  their  luidertakiug,  by  his  placiiir;- 
himself  at  its  head.  Another  address  was  drawn 
up  to  the  Regent  Duke  of  Orleans,  praying  him,  if 
he  was  not  pleased  to  aid  the  heir  of  the  House  of 
Stewart  at  this  crisis  of  his  fate,  that  he  would  at 
least  permit  him  to  return  to  his  own  country,  to 
share  the  fate  of  his  trusty  adherents  who  were  in 
arms  in  his  behalf.  This  paper  had  rather  an  ex- 
traordinary turn  sounding  as  if  the  Chevalier  de  St 
George  had  been  in  prison,  and  the  Regent  of 
France  the  keeper  of  the  key.  The  addresses, 
however,  were  subscribed  by  all  the  men  of  quality 
at  Perth,  though  great  was  the  resentment  of  these 
proud  hidalgos,  to  find  that  the  king's  printer,  Mr 
Rober  Freebairn,  was  permitted  to  sign  along  v/itli 
them.  The  papers  were,  after  having  been  signed, 
intrusted  to  the  care  of  the  Honourable  Major  Hay, 
having  as  his  secretary  the  historian  Dr  Abercrom- 
by,  with  charge  to  wait  upon  the  Chevalier  at  the 
Court  of  Lorraine,  or  where  he  might  happen  to 
be,  and  urge  the  desire  of  the  subscribers.  The 
choice  of  the  ambassador,  and  the  secrecy  which 
was  observed  on  the  subject  of  his  commission,  were 
regarded  as  deserving  censure  by  those  in  the  army 
who  conceived  that,  the  general  welfare  being  con- 
cerned in  the  measures  to  be  adopted,  they  had 
some  right  to  be  acquainted  with  the  mode  in  which 
the  negotiation  was  to  proceed.  Mar  afterwards 
dispatched  two  additional  envoys  on  the  same  er- 
rand ;  the  first  was  Sir  Alexander  Erskine  of  Alva, 
who  was  wrecked  on  his  return ;  the  second,  an 
agent  of  considerable  acuteness,  named  Charles 
Forbes. 

VOL.  I  18 


"206  DISSATISFACTION    OF 

The  Earl  of  Mar  had  not  ascended  to  the  pitch 
of  power  which  he  now  enjoyed,  without  experi- 
encing the  usual  share  of  ill-will  and  unfavourable 
construction.  The  Master  of  Sinclair,  a  man  of  a 
temper  equally  shrewd  and  severe,  had  from  the  be- 
ginning shown  himself  dissatisfied  with  the  man- 
agement of  the  insurrection,  and  appears,  like  ma- 
ny men  of  the  same  disposition,  to  have  been  much 
more  ready  to  remark  and  censure  errors  than  to 
assist  in  retrieving  them.  The  Earl  of  Huntly 
seems  also  to  have  been  disobliged  by  Mar,  and  to 
have  looked  on  him  with  dislike,  or  suspicion ;  nor 
were  the  Highlanders  entirely  disposed  to  trust  him 
as  their  General.  When  Glengarry,  one  of  their 
ablest  chiefs,  joined  the  army  at  Perth,  he  was  anx- 
ious that  the  western  clans  should  keep  separate 
from  those  first  assembled  at  Perth,  and  act  in  con- 
junction with  the  forces  of  the  Earl  of  Huntly;  and 
it  was  proposed  to  Sinclair  to  join  in  this  sort  of  as- 
sociation, by  which  the  army  would  in  fact  have 
been  effectually  separated  into  two  parts.  Glen- 
garry, however,  was  dissuaded  from  this  secession  ; 
and  although  it  is  intimated,  that  in  order  to  induce 
him  to  abandon  his  design,  the  argument  arising 
from  good  cheer  and  good  fellowship  were  freely 
resorted  to,  it  is  not  the  less  true,  that  his  returning 
to  the  duty  of  a  soldier  was  an  act  of  sober  rea- 
son. 

The  Earl  of  Mar,  amidst  his  other  duties,  having 
a  wish  to  prepare  a  place  of  arms  for  the  residence 
of  the  Chevalier  de  St  George  on  his  expected  ar- 
rival, made  an  attempt  to  cover  Perth  by  fortifica- 
tions, so  as  to  place  it  out  of  danger  from  a  coup-de- 


SINCLAIR    AND    HUNTLY.  207 

main.  General  Hamilton  attended  to  this  duty  for 
a  short  time ;  but  afterwards  it  was  almost  entirely- 
given  up  to  the  direction  of  a  Frenchman,  who  had 
been  a  dancing  and  fencing-master,  and  whose  lines 
of  defence  furnished  much  amusement  to  the  Eng- 
lish engineers,  who  afterwards  became  possessed 
of  them. 

Before  resuming  the  narrative,  I  may  tell  you, 
that  in  this  same  eventful  month  of  October,  when 
there  were  ao  many  military  movements  in  Scotland, 
the  Duke  of  Ormond  was  despatched  by  the  Che- 
valier de  St  George,  with  arms  an  ammunition, 
and  directions  to  land  on  the  coast  of  England. 
Three  cannon  were  fired  as  a  signal  to  the  Jaco- 
bites, who  were  expected  to  flock  in  numbers  to 
the  shore,  the  name  of  Ormond  being  then  most 
popular  among  them.  But  the  signals  not  being 
answered,  the  vessel  bore  off,  and  returned  to 
France.  Had  the  Duke  landed,  the  Jacobite  par- 
ty would  have  been  in  the  singular  predicament 
of  having  a  General  in  England  without  an  army, 
and  an  army  in  Scotland  without  an  effective 
General. 

We  now  approach  the  catastrophe  of  these  in- 
testine commotions ;  for  the  Earl  of  Mar  had  by 
the  beginning  of  November  received  all  the  rein- 
forcements which  he  had  to  expect,  though  it  may 
be  doubted  whether  he  had  rendered  his  task  of 
forcing  or  turning  the  Duke  of  Argyle's  position 
more  easy,  or  his  own  army  much  stronger,  by  the 
time  he  had  spent  in  inactivity.  His  numbers  were 
indeed  augmented,  but  so  were  those  of  the  Duke; 
so  that  the  armies  bore  the  same  proportion  to  each 


208     ORMONDES  DESERTION  FROM  MAR's  ARMY. 

other  as  before.  This  was  a  disadvantage  to  the 
Highlanders ;  for  where  a  contest  is  to  take  place 
betwixt  undisciplined  energy  and  the  steadiness  of 
regular  troops,  the  latter  must  always  attain  supe- 
riority in  proportion  as  their  numbers  in  the  field 
increases,  and  render  the  day  likely  to  be  decided 
by  mancEuvres.  Besides  this,  the  army  of  Mar  sus- 
tained a  very  great  loss  by  desertion  during  the  time 
he  lay  at  Perth.  The  Highlanders,  with  the  impa- 
tience and  indolence  of  a  half-civilized  people, 
grew  weary  alike  of  remaining  idle,  and  of  being 
employed  in  the  labour  of  fortification,  or  dull  de- 
tails of  ordinary  parade  exercise.  Many  also  went 
home  for  the  purpose  of  placing  in  safety  their  ac- 
cumulation of  pay,  and  what  booty  they  had  been 
able  to  find  in  the  Lowlands.  Such  desertions  were 
deemed  by  the  clans  to  be  perfectly  in  rule,  and 
even  the  authority  of  the  chiefs  was  inadequate  to 
prevent  them. 

Neither  do  the  plans  of  the  Earl  of  Mar  seem  to 
have  been  more  distincly  settled,  when  he  finally 
determined  on  the  important  step  of  making  a  move- 
ment in  advance.  It  seems  to  have  been  given  out, 
that  he  was  to  make  three  feigned  attacks  upon  the 
Duke's  army  at  one  and  the  same  time — namely, 
one  upon  the  Long  Causeway  and  Stirling  Bridge ; 
another  at  the  Abbey  Ford,  a  mile  below  Stirling; 
and  a  third  at  the  Drip-coble,  a  ford  a  mile  and  a 
half  above  that  town.  By  appearing  on  so  many 
points  at  once, Mar  might  hope  to  occupy  the  Duke's 
attention  so  efi'ectually,  as  to  cross  the  river  with 
his  main  body  at  the  fords  of  Forth.  But  as  the 
Duke  of  Argyle  did  not  give  his  opoonent  time  to 


PLANS    OF    MAR.  209 


make  these  movements,  it  cannot  be  known  wheth- 
er Mar  actually  contemplated  them. 

It  is,  however,  certain  that  the  Earl  of  Mar  en- 
tertained the  general  purpose  of  reaching,  if  possi- 
ble, the  fords  of  Forth,  where  that  river  issues  out 
of  Lock  Hard,  and  thus  passing  over  to  the  south- 
em  side.  To  reach  this  part  of  the  river,  required 
a  march  of  two  days  through  a  hilly  and  barren 
country.  Nor  were  Mar  and  his  advisers  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  road,  and  they  had  no  other  guide 
but  the  celebrated  freebooter,  Rob  Roy  MacGreg- 
or,  who  they  themselves  said  was  not  to  be  trusted, 
and  who,  in  point  of  fact,  was  in  constant  commu- 
nication with  his  patron,  the  Duke  of  Argyle,  to 
to  whom  he  sent  intelligence  of  Mar's  motions.  It 
was  said,  too,  that  this  outlaw  only  knew  the  fords 
from  having  passed  them  with  Highland  cattle — a 
different  thing,  certainly,  from  being  acquainted 
with  them  in  a  military  point  of  view.  It  was  prob- 
ably, however,  with  a  view  to  the  information  which 
Rob  Roy  could  give  on  this  point,  that  Mar,  in  a 
letter  of  the  4th  of  November,  complains  of  that 
celebrated  outlaw  for  not  having  come  to  Perth, 
where  he  wished  much  to  have  a  meeting  with  him. 

But  if  Mar  and  his  military  council  had  known 
the  fords  of  Forth  accurately,  still  it  was  doubtful 
in  what  situation  they  might  find  the  passes  when 
they  arrived  there.  They  might  have  been  fortified 
and  defended  by  the  Duke  of  Argyle,  or  a  detach- 
ment of  his  army ;  or  they  might  be  impassable  at 
this  advanced  season  of  the  year,  for  they  are  at  all 
times  of  a  deep  and  impracticable  character.  Last  of 
all,  before  they  could  reach  the  heads  of  the  Forth, 
18* 


210      ARGYLE's  march  towards   DUNBLANE. 

Mar  and  his  army  must  have  found  the  means  of 
crossing  the  Teith,  a  river  almost  as  large  and  deep 
as  the  Forth  itself,  on  which  Argyle  had  destroyed 
the  bridge  of  Doune,  which  afforded  the  usual 
means  of  passage. 

Such  Yiere  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  in- 
surgents; and  they  are  of  a  kind  which  argues  a 
great  want  of  intelligence  in  a  camp  which  must 
have  contained  many  persons  from  Menteith  and 
Lennox,  well  acquainted  with  the  country  through 
which  the  Highland  army  were  to  pass,  and  who 
might  have  reconnoitered  it  effectually,  notwith- 
standing the  small  garrisonsof  west-country  militia 
and  volunteers,  which  the  Duke  had  placed  in  Gart- 
artan,  and  other  houses  of  strength  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Aberfoil.  But  it  is  not  the  will  of  Heaven 
that  the  insurgents  should  ever  march  far  enough 
on  their  expedition  to  experience  inconveniencies 
from  the  difficulties  we  have  pointed  out ;  for  the 
Duke  of  Argyle,  though  far  inferior  in  force,  adopt- 
ed the  soldier-like  resolution  of  drawing  out  such 
strength  as  he  had,  and  interrupting  the  march  ot 
the  insurgents  by  fighting  them,  before  they  should 
have  an  opportunity  of  descending  upon  the  Forth. 
For  this  purpose,  he  called  in  all  his  garrison  and 
outposts,  and  having  mustered  a  main  body  of  not 
quite  four  thousand  men,  he  marched  from  Stirling 
towards  Dunblane,  on  the  morning  of  Saturday, 
the  12th  of  November. 

On  the  10th  of  November,  the  Earl  of  Mar  had 
broken  up  from  his  quarters  at  Perth,  and  advanc- 
ed to  Auchterarder,  where   the  infantry  were  quar- 


: 


mar's   march    from    PERTH.  211 

tered,  while  the  cavalry  found  accommodation  in 
the  vicinity. 

But,  during  that  night,  the  Highland  army  suf- 
fered in  its  nominal  strength  by  two  considerable 
desertions.  The  one  was  that  of  the  whole  clan 
of  Fraser,  amounting  to  four  hundred  men.  They 
had  joined  Mar's  army  very  recently,  under  Fraser 
of  Fraserdale,  who  had  married  the  heiress  of  their 
late  chieftain.  Just  at  this  crisis,  however,  the 
heir-male  of  the  family,  the  celebrated  Fraser  of 
Lovat,  arrived  in  the  north,  and  recalled  by  his  man- 
date the  clan  of  Fraser  from  the  standards  of  King 
James  VIII.  to  transfer  them  to  those  of  George 
I.  The  Frasers,  deeming  their  duty  to  their  chief 
paramount  to  that  which  they  owed  to  either  mon- 
arch, and  recognising  the  right  of  the  male-heir  to 
command  them  in  preference  to  that  of  the  husband 
of  the  heir-female,  unanimously  obeyed  the  sum- 
mons of  the  former,  and  left  the  camp,  army,  and 
cause  in  which  they  were  engaged.  There  will  be 
occasion  to  mention  more  of  the  Frasers  hereafter. 

The  other  desertion  was  that  of  two  hundred  of 
the  Earl  of  Huntly's  Highland  followers,  who  com- 
plained of  having  been  unjustly  overburdened  with 
what  is  called  fatigue-duty.  Thus  diminished,  the 
army,  after  having  been  reviewed  by  their  General, 
marched  off  their  ground  in  the  following  order. 
The  Master  of  Sinclair  with  the  Fifcshire  squad- 
ron, and  two  squadrons  of  Huntly's  cavalry,  formed 
the  advance  of  the  whole.  The  western  clans  fol- 
lowed, being,  first,  the  Mac  Donalds,  under  their 
different  chiefs  of  Clan  Ranald,  Glengarry,  Sir 
Donald,  Keppoch,  and   Glencoe.     The  next  were 


212  mar's    march    from    PERTH. 

Breadalbane's  men,  with  five  regiments,  consisting 
of  the  following  clans;  the  MacLanes,  under  Sir 
John  MacLean,  their  chief;  the  Camerons,  under 
Lochiel ;  the  Stewarts,  commanded  by  Appin ; 
and  those  who  remained  of  Huntly's  followers  from 
Strathdon  and  Glenlivet,  under  Gordon  of  Glen- 
bucket.  This  chosen  body  of  Highlanders  were 
in  high  spirits,  and  so  confident  of  success,  that 
they  boasted  that  their  division  of  Mar's  army  only 
would  be  more  than  enough  to  deal  v/ith  the  Duke 
of  Argyle,  and  all  the  force  he  commanded.  Gene- 
ral Gordon  was  commander  of  the  whole  Highland 
vanguard. 

The  rest  of  the  army,  commanded  by  Mar  in  per- 
son, with  the  assistance  of  General  Hamilton,  fol- 
lowed the  advanced  division ;  and  it  was  settled 
that  the  rearguard  should  march  only  as  far  as  Ar- 
doch,  while  the  vanguard  should  push  forward  as 
far  as  the  town  of  Dunblane,  where  they  had  quar- 
tered on  their  former  march  from  Perth,  eight  miles 
to  the  west  of  Ardoch,  where  the  rear  was  to  halt. 

The  horse,  at  the  head  of  the  first  column,  were 
advancing  according  to  their  orders,  when  a  larae 
boy  running  as  fast  as  his  infirmity  would  permit 
him,  stated  to  the  Master  of  Sinclair,  who  comman- 
ded the  advance,  that  he  was  sent  by  the  wife  of 
Laird  of  Kippendavie,  whose  husband  was  in  the 
Jacobite  army,  to  tell  the  Earl  of  Mar  that  the 
Duke  of  Argyle  was  in  the  act  of  marching  through 
Dunblane.  The  news,  though  the  appearance  of 
the  messenger  excited  some  doubt,  was  entitled  to 
be  treated  with  respect.  A  reconnoitering  party 
was    sent    forward,    an   express  was   dispatched  to 


TWO  ARMIES  IN    SIGHT  OF  EACH  OTHER.    213 


Mar,  who  was  six  or  seven  miles  in  the  rear,  and 
General  Gordon  anxiously  looked  around  him  to 
find  some  strong  ground  on  which  to  post  the  men, 
The  river  Allan  lay  in  their  front,  and  the  Master 
of  Sinclair  proposed  pushing  across,  and  taking 
possession  of  some  farm-houses,  visible  on  the  op- 
posite side,  where  the  gentlemen  might  find  refresh- 
ment, and  the  horses  forage.  But  General  Gordon 
justly  thought  that  the  passing  a  river  at  nightfall 
was  a  bad  preparation  for  a  body  of  infantry,  who 
were  to  lie  out  till  morning  in  the  open  air,  in  a 
frost,  in  the  middle  of  November.  At  length  the 
dispute  was  terminated,  on  two  farm-houses  being 
discovered  on  the  left  side  of  the  river,  where  the 
horses  obtained  some  accommodation,  though  in  a 
situation  in  which  they  might  have  been  destroyed 
by  a  sudden  attack,  before  they  could  have  got  out  of 
the  enclosures,  among  which  they  were  penned  up 
like  cattle,  rather  than  quartered  like  soldiers.  To 
guard  against  such  a  catastrophe,  General  Gordon 
posted  advanced  guards  and  videttes,  and  sent  out 
patrols  with  the  usual  military  precautions.  Soon 
after  they  had  taken  their  quarters  for  the  night, 
Lord  Southesk  and  the  Angus-shire  cavalry  came 
up,  v/ith  the  intelligence  that  Mar  and  the  whole 
main  body  were  following,  and  the  Earl  according- 
ly appeared  at  the  bivouac  of  the  vanguard  about 
nine  o'clock  at  night. 

Fresh  intelligence,  came  to  them  from  Lady 
Kippendavie,  who  seems  to  have  been  as  correct 
in  her  intelligence,  and  accurate  in  communicating 
with  the  insurgent  army,  as  she  was  singular  in  her 
choice  of  messengers,  this  last  being  an  old  woman, 


214    TWO  ARMIES  IX    SIGHT  OF  EACH  OTHER. 

who  confirmed  the  tidings  of  the  enemy's  approach. 
The  reconnoitering  parties,  sent  forward  by  Sin- 
clair, came  in  with  news  to  the  same  purpose. 

The  whole  of  Mar's  army  being  now  collected  ' 
together  within  a  very  narrow  circumference,  slept 
on  their  arms,  and  wrapped  in  their  plaids ;  feel- 
ing less  inconvenience  from  the  weather,  which 
was  a  severe  frost,  than  would  probably  have  been 
experienced  by  any  other  forces  in  Europe. 

By  day-break,  on  Sunday,  13th  November,  the 
insurgent  army  drew  up  in  two  lines  of  battle,  on 
the  plain  above  the  place  where  they  had  spent  the 
night.  They  had  not  long  assumed  this  posture, 
when  they  perceived  a  strong  squadron  of  horse 
upon  an  eminence  to  the  south  of  their  lines.  This 
was  the  Duke  of  Argyle,  who,  with  some  general 
officers,  had  taken  this  post  in  advance,  for  the 
purpose  of  reconnoitering  the  enemy's  position  and 
proceedings.  In  this  he  succeeded  but  imperfect- 
ly, on  account  of  the  swells  and  hollows  which  lay 
between  him  and  Mar's  army. 

In  the  meantime,  Mar,  after  satisfSdng  himself 
that  he  was  in  presence  of  the  enemy,  called  a 
council  of  his  nobles,  general  officers,  chiefs  of 
clans,  and  commanders  of  corps.  He  is  allowed 
on  this  occasion  to  have  made  them  a  most  ani- 
mating speech.  It  sunk,  in  part,  upon  unwilling 
ears,  for  there  were  already  several  persons  of  con- 
sequence, among  whom  Huntly  and  Sinclair  seem 
to  have  been  the  leaders,  who,  despairing  of  the 
cause  in  which  they  were  engaged,  were  desirous 
to  open  a  communication  with  the  Duke  of  Argyle, 
in  order  to  learn  whatever  he  had  power  to  receive 


>  mar's  council  of  war.  215 

their  submission,  and  admit  them  to  pardon  on  their 
former  footing  of  living  quietly  under  government. 
This,  hovrever,  was  only  whispered  among  them- 
selves ;  for  even  those  who  entertained  such  opin- 
ions, were  at  the  same  time  conscious  that  the  cri- 
sis was  come,  in  which  they  must  fight  for  peace 
sword-in-hand,  and  that,  by  gaining  a  victory,  they 
might  dictate  honourable  terms  ;  while,  if  they  at- 
tempted a  retreat,  they  would  be  no  longer  able  to 
keep  their  Highland  levies  together,  or  to  open  a 
negotiation  with  the  air  of  strength  absolutely  ne- 
cessary to  command  a  tolerable  capitulation. 

When,  therefore,  the  Earl  of  Mar  reminded  his 
military  auditors  of  the  injustice  done  to  the  royal 
family,  and  the  oppression  of  Scotland  under  the 
English  yoke,  and  conjured  them  not  to  let  slip  the 
opportunity  which  they  had  so  long  languished  for, 
but  instantly  attack  the  enemy,  with  that  spirit 
which  their  cause  and  their  wrongs  were  calculat- 
ed to  inspire,  his  words  awakened  a  corresponding 
<inergy  in  the  hearers.  The  Earl  of  Huntiy  only 
asked,  whether  a  battle  won  would,  in  their  pre- 
sent circumstances,  place  their  rights,  and  those  of 
their  country,  within  their  reach  ?  or,  whether  there 
was  any  hope  of  foreign  aid,  to  enable  them  to 
withstand  the  arms  of  England  and  her  allies  ?  "All 
this,'"'  he  said,  "  my  Lord  of  Mar  could  doubtless 
inform  them  of,  since  he  had  lately  received  a  let- 
ter from  Lord  Bolingbroke,  which  he  desired  might 
be  laid  before  the  council." 

The  critical  circumstances  of  the  moment,  and 
the  enthusiasm  which  had  been  excited  in  the  as- 
sembly, enabled  Mar  to  dispense  with  attending  to 


216  BATTLE    OF    SHERIFF.MUIR. 

questions  which  he  might  have  found  it  difficult  to 
answer.  Gliding  over  the  interruption  given  by 
Huntly,  he  stated  to  the  council  the  question,  in 
the  words,  "Fight,  or  not?"  The  chiefs,  nobles, 
and  officers,  answered,  with  an  universal  shout  ot 
"Fight;'  and  their  resolution  reaching  the  two 
lines,  as  they  stood  drawn  up  in  battle,  was  wel- 
comed with  loud  huzzas,  tossing  up  of  hats  and 
bonnets  and  a  cheerfulness,  w'hich  seemed,  even  to 
those  who  had  been  before  uncertain  and  doubtful 
of  the  issue,  a  sure  presage  of  speedy  victory. 

In  this  state  of  excited  feelings,  the  army  of  JNIar 
advanced  towards  the  enemy.  The  two  lines  in 
which  they  stood  upon  the  moor  were  broken  up 
each  into  two  columns,  so  that  it  was  in  four  col- 
umns, that  they  pursued  the  order  of  their  march 
descending  the  hill  which  they  had  first  occupied, 
crossing  a  morass,  which  the  hard  frost  of  the  night 
before  had  rendered  passable  for  cavalry  as  w^ell  as 
infantry,  and  ascending  the  opposite  height,  from 
which  the  Duke  of  Argyle  was  observ^ing  their  move- 
ments. The  Duke,  on  his  part,  as  soon  as  he  saw^ 
the  extremity  of  Mar's  wing  wheel  to  the  right,  in 
order  to  make  the  movement  we  have  described, 
immediately  comprehended  that  their  purpose  w^as 
to  avail  themselves  of  their  superiority  of  numbers, 
and  attack  his  small  force  at  once  on  the  left  flank, 
and  in  front.  He  rode  hastily  dow^n  the  eminence, 
at  the  foot  of  which  his  force  was  drawn  up,  in  or- 
der at  once  to  get  them  into  such  a  disposition  as 
might  disappoint  the  object  of  the  enemy,  and  to 
lead  his  troops  up  the  hill.  He  drew  up  his  little 
army  of  about  four   thousand   men,  extending  his 


I 


CATTLE    OF    SHERIFFiMUIR.  217 

disposition  considerably  to  the  right,  placing  three 
squadrons  of  horse  on  that  wing,  and  as  many  on 
the  left  of  his  front  line ;  the  centre  being  compos- 
ed of  six  battalions  of  foot.  Each  wing  of  horse 
was  supported  by  a  squadron  of  dragoons.      The 

^  second  line  was  composed  of  two  battalions  in  the 
centre,  with  a  squadron  of  dragoons  on  either  wing. 
In  this  order,  and  having  his  right  considerably  ad- 
vanced against  the  enemy's  left  so  as  to  admit  of 
his  withdrawing  his  own  left  wing  from  a  flank  at- 

.  tack,  the  Duke  ascended  the  hill,  seeing  nothing 
of  the  enemy,  who  had  left  the  high  grounds,  and 
were  advancing  to  meet  him  on  the  other  side  of 
the  same  height,  which  he  was  in  the  act  of  mount- 
ing. The  Highlanders,  as  has  been  already  stated, 
advanced  in  four  columns,  marching  by  their  right. 
Each  column  of  infantry,  four  in  number,  was 
closed  by  a  body  of  cavalry,  which,  when  the  column 
should  deploy  into  line,  were  to  take  up  their  ground 
on  the  flank.  The  Highlanders  marched,  or  rather 
ran,  with  such  eagerness  towards  the  enemy,  that 
the  horse  were  kept  at  the  gallop  in  the  rear.  Both 
armies  were  thus  ascending  the  hill  in  column,  and 
met,  as  it  were  unexpectedly,  upon  the  top,  be- 
ing in  some  points  within  pistol-shot  before  they 
were  aware  of  each  other's  presence.  Both,  there- 
fore, endeavoured  at  the  same  time  to  form  line-of- 
battle,  and  some  confusion  occurred  on  either  side. 
-In-  particular,  two  squadrons  of  the  insurgent  cav- 
alry were  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  ri^ht  wing, 
instead  of  being  stationed  on  the  flank,  as  had  been 
intended,  and  as  the  rules  of  war  required.  This 
discovery,  hov.ever,  was  of  much  less  consequence 
vol,.   I.  19 


218  BATTLE    OF    SHERIFFMUIR 


to  the  Highlauders,  whose  terrors  consisted  in  the 
headlong  fury  of  the  onset,  whilst  the  strength  of 
the  regulars  depended  on  the  steadiness  of  their  dis- 
cipline. 

It  was  at  this  moment  that  an  old  chief,  impa- 
tient for  the  command  to  charge,  and  seeing  the 
English  soldiers  getting  into  order,  became  enraged 
at  seeing  the  favourable  minute  pass  away,  and 
made  the  memorable  exclamation,  "  Oh,  for  one 
hour  of  Dundee !" 

The  Duke's  left  wing  was  commanded  by  Gen- 
eral Whitham,  who  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
distinguished  either  for  courage  or  conduct.  The 
right  of  3Iar's  line  was  hastily  formed,  consisting 
of  the  western  clans,  MacDonalds,  MacLeans, 
and  the  followers  of  Breadalbane,  when  old  Cap- 
tain Livingston  rode  up,  a  veteran  soldier,  who  had 
served  in  King  James's  army  before  the  Revolution, 
and  with  several  oaths  called  to  General  Gordon, 
who  commanded  the  right  wHng,  instantly  to  attack. 
The  general  hesitated,  but  the  chiefs  and  clans 
caught  the  enthusiasm  of  the  moment.  A  gentle- 
man, named  MacLean,  who  lived  to  a  great  age, 
thus  described  the  attack  of  his  own  tribe  ;  and  there 
oan  be  no  doubt  that  the  general  onset  was  made 
under  similar  circumstances.  When  this  clan  was 
drawn  up  in  deep  order,  the  best  born,  bravest,  and 
best  armed  of  the  warriors  in  front.*     Sir  John  Mac 

*The  very  existence  of  this  regiment  was  an  instance  of  the 
tenacity  of  clan  attachment.  The  lands  on  which  they  lived  in  the 
Isle  of  Mull  were  become  the  property  of  the  Duke  of  Argvle,  and 
ihftir  Chief  resided  for  the  most  part  in  France,  on  an  allowance 


BATTLE    OF    SHERIFFMUIR.  219 


Lean  placed  himself  at  their  head,  and  said,  with 
a  loud  voice,  "  Gentlemen,  this  is  a  day  we  have 
long  wished  to  see.      Yonder  stands  MacCallan- 

^  more  for  King  George — Here  stands  MacLean  for 
King  James.— God  bless  MacLean  and  King  James! 
— Charge,  Gentlemen  !'' 

The  clan  then  muttered  a  very  brief  prayer,  fixed 
the  bonnet  firm  on  the  head,  stripped  off  their 
plaids,  which  then  comprehended  the  philabeg 
also,*  and  rushed  on  the  enemy,  firing  their  fusees 
irregularly,  then  dropping  them,  and  drawing  their 
swords,  and  uniting  in  one  wild  yell,  when  they 
mingled  among  the  bayonets.  The  regular  troops 
on  the  left  received  this  fierce  onset  of  the  moun- 
taineers with  a  heavy  fire,  which  did  considerable 
execution.  Among  others  who  dropped,  was  the 
gallant  young  chief  of  Clan  Ranald,  mortally  wound- 
ed. His  fall  checked  for  an  instant  the  impetuosi- 
ty of  his  followers,  when  Glengarry,  so  often  men- 
tioned, started  from  the  ranks,  waved  his  bonnet 
around  his  head,  exclaiming,  "Revenge,  revenge! 
to-day  for  revenge,    and  to-morrow  for  mourning  !" 

.  The  Highlanders,  resuming  the  fury  of  their  attack, 
mingled  with  the  regulars,  forced  their  line  in  every 
direction,  broke  through  them  and  dispersed  them, 
making  great  slaughter  among  men  less  active  than 

which  Queen  Anne  had  assigned  him;  yet  he  found  no  difficulty 
in  raising  seven  or  eight  hundred  men,  in  opposition  to  their  actu- 
al landlord  ;  so  inferior  was  the  feudal  claim  to  the  patriarchal. 

*  The  Highlanders  wore  long  shirts,  which  were  disposed  in  a 
particular  manner  on  such  occasions. 


220  BATTLE    OF    SHERIFFMUIR. 


themselTes,  and  loaded  with  an  unwieldly  musket, 
which  in  individual  or  irregular  strife,  has  scarce 
ever  been  found  a  match  for  the  broad-sword.  The 
extreme  left  of  Argyle's  army  was  thus  routed  with  ^ 
considerable  slaughter,  for  the  Highlanders  gave 
no  quarter ;  but  the  troops  of  the  centre,  under 
General  Wightman,  remained  unbroken;  and  it 
would  seem  to  have  been  the  business  of  the  rebel 
cavalry  to  have  charged  them  in  the  flank  or  rear, 
exposed  as  they  must  have  been  by  the  flight  of 
Whitham  and  the  left  wing.  Of  their  cavalry,  how- 
ever, two  squadrons,  commanded  by  Drummond 
and  Marischal,  went  ofl"  in  pursuit  of  those  whom 
the  Highlanders  had  scattered  ;  while  Lord  Huntly's 
and  that  of  Fife,  under  the  Master  of  Sinclair,  re- 
mained inactive  on  the  field  of  battle,  without  en- 
gaging at  all.  It  would  seem  that  they  were  kept 
in  check  by  the  dragoons  of  Argyle's  second  line, 
who  did  not  fly  like  the  first,  but  made  an  orderly 
retreat  in  face  of  the  enemy. 

On  the  right  wing  and  centre,  the  event  of  the 
battle  was  very  difl'erent.  The  attack  of  the 
Highlanders  was  as  furious  as  on  their  right.  But 
their  opponents,  though  a  little  staggered,  stood 
their  ground  with  admirable  resolution,  and  the 
Duke  of  Argyle  detached  Colonel  Cathcart,  with  a 
body  of  horse,  to  cross  a  morass,  which  the  frost 
had  rendered  passable,  and  attack  the  Highlander'^ 
on  the  flank  as  they  advanced  to  the  charge.  In 
this  manner  their  rapid  assault  was  checked  and 
baffled  ;  and  although  the  Camerons,  Stewarts,  and 
other  clans  of  high  reputation,  formed  the  [eft  wing 
of  Mar's  army,  yot  that,  and  liis  wh-lo  ^^erond  line, 


BATTLE    OF    SHERIFFMUIR.  221 


was  put  to  flight  by  the  masterly  movement  of  the 
Duke  of  Argyle,  and  the  steadiness  of  the  troops 
he  commanded.  But  his  situation  was  very  peril- 
ous ;  for  as  the  fugitives  consisted  of  five  thousand 
men,  there  was  every  prospect  of  their  rallying  and 
destroying  the  Duke's  small  body,  consisting  only 
of  five  squadrons  of  horse,  supported  by, Wight- 
man,  with  three  battalions  of  infantry,  who  had 
lately  composed  the  centre  of  the  army.  Argyle 
took  the  bold  determination  to  press  on  the  fugitives 
with  his  utmost  vigour,  and  succeeded  in  driving 
them  back  to  the  river  Allan,  where  they  had  quar- 
tered the  night  before.  The  fugitives  made  fre- 
quent halts,  and  were  as  often  again  attacked  and 
broken.  This  was  particularly  remarked  of  the  body 
of  horse  who  carried  James's  standard,  and  was  call- 
ed the  Restoration  Squadron.  The  gentlemen 
composing  it  made  repeated  and  vigourous  attacks, 
in  which  they  were  only  broken  and  borne  down  by 
the  superior  weight  of  the  English  cavalry.  It  was 
in  one  of  these  reiterated  charges  that  the  gallant 
young  Earl  of  Strathmore  lost  his  life,  while  in  vain 
attempting  to  rally  his  Angus-shire  regiment.  He  was 
slain  by  a  private  dragoon,  after  having  had  quarter 
given  to  him.  The  Earl  of  Panmure  was  also 
wounded  and  made  prisoner  by  the  royalists,  but 
was  rescued  by  his  brother,  Mr  Henry  Maule. 

The  field  of  battle  now  presented  a  singular  ap- 
pearance, for  the  left  of  both  armies  were  broken 
and  flying,  the  right  of  both  victorious  and  in  pur- 
suit. But  the  events  of  war  are  of  less  consequence 
than  the  use  which  is  made  of  them.  It  does  not 
appear  that  anv  attempt  was  made  on  the  part  of 
19* 


222  BATTLE    OF    SHERIFFMUIR. 

Mar  to  avail  himself  of  his  success  on  the  right.      I " 


General  Whitham  had  indeed  resigned  the  field  of 
battle  to  his  opponents,  and  from  thence  lied  almost 
to  Stirling  bridge.  The  victorious  Highlanders  did 
not  take  the  trouble  to  pursue  them,  but  having 
marched  across  the  scene  of  action,  drew  up  on  an 
eminence,  called  the  Stony  Hill  of  Kippendavie, 
where  they  stood  in  groupes  with  their  drawn 
sw^ords  in  their  hands.  One  cause  of  their  inactiv- 
ity at  this  critical  moment  may  be  attributed  to  hav- 
ing dropped  their  fire-arms,  according  to  their  fash-  _ 
ion  when  about  to  charge  ;  another,  certainly,  was 
the  want  of  active  aides-de-camp  to  transmit 
orders ;  and  a  third  character  of  the  Highlanders, 
who  are  not  always  disposed  to  obedience.  Thk 
much  is  certain,  that  had  their  victorious  right  wing 
pursued  in  the  Duke  of  Argyle's  rear  when  he  advan- 
ced towards  the  river  Allan,  they  must  have  placed 
him  in  the  greatest  danger,  since  his  utmost  exer- 
tion was  scarce  equal  to  keep  the  multitude  before 
him  in  full  retreat.  It  is  also  stated,  that  some  of 
the  Highlanders  showed  an  unwillingness  to  fight. 
This  is  alleged  to  have  been  particularly  the  case 
with  the  celebrated  Rob  Roy,  a  dependent,  it  will 
be  observ-ed,  of  the  Duke  of  Argyle's,  and  in  the 
habit,  during  the  whole  insurrection,  of  fumishirig 
him  with  intelligence  from  the  enemy's  camp.  A 
strong  party  of  MacGregors  and  MacPhersons 
were  under  the  command  of  this  outlaw,  who,  when 
ordered  to  charge,  answered  cooly,  "  If  they  can- 
not do  it  without  me,  they  cannot  do  it  with  me." 
It  is  said,  that  a  bold  man  of  the  Clan  Vourigh, 
called  Alaster    MacPhorson,    who    followed  Rob 


BATTLE    OF   SKERIFFMUiR.  223 


Roy's  original  profession  of  a  drover,  impatient  at 
the  inactivity  in  which  they  were  detained,  drew 
his  sword,  and  called  on  the  Mac  Pherson's  to  fol- 
low. "Hold,  Sandie,"  said  Rob  Roy,  "were 
the  question  about  a  drove  of  sheep,  you  might 
know  something ;  but  as  it  concerns  the  leading  of 
men,  it  is  for  me  to  decide." — "  Were  the  question 
about  a  drove  of  Glen-Angus  wethers,"  retorted 
the  MacPherson,  '^the  question  with  you,  Rob, 
would  not  be  who  should  be  last,  but  who  should 
be  first."  This  had  almost  produced  a  battle  be- 
twixt the  two  champions ;  but  in  the  meantime, 
the  opportunity  of  advancing  was  lost. 

The  Duke  of  Argyle  having  returned  back  from 
his  pursuit  of  the  enemy's  left  wing,  came  in  con- 
tact with  their  right,  which,  victorious  as  we  have 
intimated,  was  drawn  upon  the  hill  of  Kippendavie. 
Mutual  menaces  of  attack  took  place,  but  the  com- 
bat was  renewed  on  neither  side.  Both  armies 
showed  a  disposition  to  retreat,  and  Mar,  abandon- 
ing a  part  of  his  artillery,  drew  back  to  Auchterar- 
der,  and  from  thence  retired  to  Perth.  Both  gen- 
erals claimed  the  victory,  but  as  Mar  abandoned 
from  that  day  all  thoughts  of  a  movement  to  the 
westward,  his  object  must  be  considered  as  having 
been  completely  defeated ;  while  Argyle  attained 
the  fruits  of  victory  in  retaining  the  position  by 
which  he  defended  the  Lowlands,  and  barred  against 
the  insurgents  every  avenue  by  which  they  could 
enter  them. 

The  numbers  slain  in  the  battle  of  Sheriffmuir 
were  considerable.  Seven  or  eight  hundred  were 
killed  on  the  side   of  the  rebels,  and  the   royalists 


224  BATTLE  or  siTKRirrMuir? 


must  have  lost  live  or  six  hundred.  Much  noble 
and  gentle  blood  was  mixed  with  that  of  the  vul- 
gar. A  troop  of  volunteers,  obout  sixty  in  number, 
comprehending  the  Dukes  of  Douglas  and  Rox- 
burghe,  the  Earls  of  Haddington,  Lauderdale, 
London,  Belhaven,  and  Rothes,  fought  bravely, 
though  the  policy  of  risking  such  a  trovpe  done. 
might  be  questionable.  At  all  events,  it  marked  a 
great  change  of  times,  when  the  Duke  of  Douglas, 
whose  ancestors  could  have  raised  an  army  as  nu- 
merous as  those  of  both  sides  in  the  field  of  Sheriff- 
muir,  fought  as  a  private  trooper,  assisted  only  by 
two  or  three  servants.  This  body  of  volunteers  be- 
haved in  a  manner  becoming  their  rank.  Many  of 
them  were  wounded,  and  the  Earl  of  Forfar  was 
slain. 

The  loss  of  the  Earl  of  Strathmore,  and  of  the 
young  Clan  Ranald,  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  In- 
surrection. The  last  was  a  complete  soldier,  train- 
ed in  the  French  Guards,  and  full  of  zeal  for  the 
cause  of  James.  "My  family,"  he  replied  to 
Mar's  summons  to  join  him,  "have  been  on  such 
occasions  ever  wont  to  be  the  first  on  the  field,  and 
the  last  to  leave  it."  When  he  fell  out  of  the  ranks, 
mortally  wounded,  Mar  met  him,  and,  ignorant  of 
what  had  happened,  demanded  why  he  was  not  in 
the  front.  "  I  have  had  my  share,"  said  the  dying 
chief,  and  fell  dead  before  his  commander.  Many 
of  his  men  retired  from  the  army  in  consequence 
of  his  death. 

Thus  began  and  thus  ended  a  confused  affray, 
of  which  a  contemporary  ballad-maker  truly  says, 
"there  is  nothing  certain,  except  that  there  was  ac- 
tually n  battle,  which  he  witnessed." 


[  225  ] 


CHAP.  XI. 


Mav's  retreat  to  Perth,  leaving  Argyle  Master  of  the  Field — Dis- 
sentions  among  the  Troops  under  Forster  and  Kenmure — Fors- 
ter  returns  to  England,  and  is  recognised  as  General  of  the  Chev- 
alier's Forces  there — He  marches,  with  the  design  of  attacking 
Liverpool,  to  Preston,  where  his  army  is  blockaded  by  General 
Willis,  and,  after  some  opposition,  surrenders  at  discretion — 
The  Prisoners  of  Rank  sent  to  London — Escape  of  Forster,  Mac- 
intosh, and  Hepburn  of  Keith— Execution  oi  Derwentwater  and 
Kenmure — Escape  of  Nithisdale— the  other  noblemen  pardoned, 
after  a  long  Imprisonment. 

The  confused  battle  of  Sheriffmuir  being  ended 
by  the  approach  of  night,  both  parties  had  time  to 
count  what  they  had  lost  and  won  in  the  course  of 
the  day.  That  of  the  insurgents  was  easily  sum- 
med up.  The  Highlanders,  on  their  right  behaved 
with  their  usual  courage,  and  maintained  the  repu- 
tation which  they  had  acquired  of  old  times  under 
Montrose,  and  more  lately  when  commanded  by 
Dundee.  But  in  every  other  particular,  the  events 
of  the  battle  were  unfavourable  to  the  insurgents. 
A  great  many  of  their  best  men  had  retired  with- 
out leave,  as  was  their  invariable  practice,  to  see 
their  families,  or  to  secure  their  small  stock  of 
booty,  which  some  of  them  had  augmented  by  plun- 
dering the  baggage  of  their  own  army.  This  deser- 
tion thinned  the  ranks  even  of  those  clans  who  had 
been  victorious,  and  the  Higlanders  of  the  van- 
quished division  of  the  armv  had  much  better  rea- 


226  RETREAT    OF    MAR   TO    PERTH. 

sons  for  following  the  example  thus  set.  Their 
numbers  that  morning  had  been  from  eight  to  ten 
thousand  men  ;  and  at  the  close  of  the  day,  about 
four  thousand  of  them  were  missing.  Some  lead- 
ers, too,  of  high  rank  and  quality,  had  graced  the 
retreat  by  their  example  ;  and  it  was  said  of  Hunt-~ 
ly  and  Seaforth  in  particular,  that  they  w^ere  the 
iirst  fugitives  of  any  rank  or  condition  who  reached 
Perth,  and  discouraged  their  numerous  followers, 
by  their  retreat  from  the  field  of  action.  It  was 
therefore  in  vain  for  the  insurgents,  under  this  state 
of  diminution  and  discouragement,  to  abide  a  sec- 
ond battle,  or  endeavour  to  renew  the  attempt  to 
pass  the  Forth,  which  they  had  not  been  able  to 
accomplish  with  double  their  now  reduced  numbers. 
But  besides  the  eifects  of  desertion,  the  insur- 
gent army  had  other  difficulties  to  contend  with. 
The  improvidence  of  their  leaders  had  been  so  un- 
pardonably  great,  that  they  had  set  out  from  one  of 
the  most  fertile  to  a  comparatively  barren  district 
of  Scotland,  with  provisions  for  two  or  three  days 
only,  and  their  ammunition  was  proportionably  scan-, 
ty.  It  was  therefore  evident,  that  they  were  in  no 
condition  to  renew  the  attempt  in  which  they  had 
that  morning  miscarried;  nor  had  Mar  any  alterna- 
tive, save  that  of  leading  back  his  army  to  their  old 
quarters  at  Perth,  to  wait  until  some  unexpected 
event  should  give  them  spirits  for  a  fresh  effort. 
Accordingly,  as  already  mentioned,  having  passed 
the  night  after  the  action  among  the  enclosures  of 
Auchterarder,  he  returned  towards  Perth  the  next 
morning.  The  Duke  of  Argyle,  on  the  other  hand, 
having  fallen  back  on  Dunblane  with  the  troops  he 


A 


mar's  gazette.  227 


himself  commanded,  and,  rejoined  by  such  of  the 
fugitives  of  the  left  wing  as  could  be  collected,  he 
lay  on  his  arms  all  night,  expecting  to  renew  the 
action  on  the  succeeding  day. 

On  approaching  the  field  of  battle  on  Monday, 
the  14th  of  November,  at  break  of  day,  the  Duke  of 
Argyle  found  it  abandoned  by  the  enemy,  vvlio  had 
left  their  dead  and  wounded  at  his  disposal,  togeth- 
er with  the  honours  of  the  field,  amongst  which  the 
principal  trophies  were  fourteen  colours,  or  stand- 
ards, and  six  pieces  of  field  cannon,  which  Mar  had 
brought  to  the  field  in  an  useless  bravado,  since  he 
had  neither  ammunition  nor  men  to  serve  them,  and 
which  he  had  found  himself  unable  to  remove. 
Amongst  the  gentlemen  who  fell  on  this  occasion, 
were  several  on  both  sides  alike  eminent  for  birth 
and  character.  The  body  of  the  gallant  young 
Earl  of  Strathmore  was  found  on  the  field,  watched 
by  a  faithful  old  domestic,  who,  being  asked  the 
name  of  the  person  whose  body  he  waited  upon 
with  so  much  care,  made  this  striking  reply,  "  He 
was  a  man  yesterday." 

The  Earl  of  Mar  had  endeavoured  to  pave  the 
way  for  a  triumphant  return  to  Perth,  by  a  species 
of  Gazette,  in  which  he  claimed  the  victory  on  the 
right  and  centre,  and  affirmed  that  had  the  left  wing 
and  the  second  line  behaved  as  his  right  and  the 
rest  of  the  first  line  did,  the  victory  had  been  com- 
plete. But  he  could  not  again  excite  the  enthusi- 
asm of  his  followers,  many  of  whom  began  now  in 
earnest  to  despair  of  their  situation,  the  large  odds 
of  numbers  which  they  possessed  in  the  field  of 
SherifFmuif  having  been  unable  to  secure  them  a 
decided  victory. 


223         DISSENSION'S    AMOria    THE    TROOPS 


Many  rumours  -were  in  the  meantime  spread  a- 
mong  the  insurgents,  concerning  sucesses  which 
were  reported  to  have  been  obtained  by  Forster 
and  his  troops  over  General  Carpenter  in  England, 
and  bonfires  and  rejoicings  v.ere  made  for  these 
supposed  victories,  at  a  time  when,  in  fact,  Forster 
and  Kenmure  were  totally  defeated,  their  soldiers 
dispersed,  and  themselves  prisoners. 

You  must  not  forget  that  the  force  of  General 
Forster  consisted  of  the  troops  of  horse  levied  on 
the  Northumberland  frontier  by  the  Earl  of  Der- 
wentwater  and  others,  joined  with  the  gentlemen  of 
Galloway  and  Dumfries-shire,  under  Lord  Ken- 
tnure,  and  the  Lothian  Jacobites,  under  the  Earl  of 
Winton,  composing  altogether  a  body  of  five  or  six 
hundred  horse,  to  whom  must  be  added  about  four- 
teen hundred  Highlanders,  being  those  sent  across 
the  Frith  by  the  Earl  of  Mar,  under  command  of 
Mackintosh  of  Borlum.  You  must  also  recollect, 
that  in  this  little  army  there  were  great  differences 
of  opinion  as  to  the  route  which  they  were  to  pur- 
sue. The  English  gentlemen  persisted  in  the  de- 
lusion, that  they  had  only  to  show  themselves  in  the 
west  of  England,  in  order  to  draw  the  whole  coun- 
try to  their  standard,  while  the  Scots,  both  the  Low- 
land gentlemen  and  Highlanders,  desired  to  march 
upon  Dumfries,  and,  after  taking  possession  of  that 
town,  proceed  to  the  west  of  Scotland,  and  force 
open  a  communication  betwixt  their  force  and  the 
main  army  under  Mar,  by  which  they  reasonably 
hoped  to  dislodge  Argyle  from  his  post  at  Stirling. 

Unfixed  which  course  to  pursue,  and  threatened 
by  General  (-arpenter,    who    moved  against    them 


UNDER    FORSTER    AND    KENMURE.  229 


from  Newcastle  towards  Kelso,  at  the  head  of  a 
thousand  horse,  the  insurgents  left  the  latter  town, 
where  they  had  been  joined  by  the  Brigadier  Mac 
lutosh,  and  marched  to  Jedburgh,  not  without  one 
or  two  false  alarms.  They  had,  however,  the  ad- 
vantage of  outstripping  General  Carpenter,  and  the 
English  gentlemen  became  still  more  impatient  to 
return  into  their  own  country,  and  raise  the  Jaco- 
bites of  the  west.  The  Highlanders,  learning  that 
such  a  plan  was  at  last  adopted,  separated  them- 
selves from  the  horse  as  soon  as  the  march  began, 
and  drawing  up  on  a  moor  above  the  town  of  Ha- 
wick, declared,  that  if  the  insurgents  proposed  to 
march  against  the  enemy,  they  would  fight  it  out 
to  the  last.  But  that  they  would  not  go  into  Eng- 
land to  be  kidnapped  and  made  slaves  of,  as  theii 
ancestors  were  in  •Cromwell's  time,  x'^nd  when 
the  horse  drew  up,  as  if  for  the  purpose  of  attack, 
the  Highlanders  cocked  their  pieces,  and  prepared 
for  action,  saying,  that  if  they  must  needs  be  made 
a  sacrifice,  they  would  prefer  their  own  country  as 
the  scene  of  their  death.  The  discontented  moun- 
taineers would  listen  to  no  one  save  the  Earl  ot 
Winton,  who  joined  them  in  desiring  to  march  west- 
ward to  the  assistance  of  the  Earl  of  Mar ;  to  whom, 
indeed,  by  preventing  Argyle  from  concentrating 
his  forces,  they  might  have  done  excellent  service, 
for  the  Duke  could  never  have  recalled  a  repment 
'of  horses  which  he  had  at  Kilsythe,  had  the  south- 
ern insurgents  threatened  that  post.  The  High- 
landers were  at  length  put  in  motion,  under  a  decla 
ration  that  they  would  abide  with  the  army  while 
they  remained  in  Scotland,  but  should  they  enter 
Eugla!Kl  they  would  return  back. 
VOT„  I.       '  20 


230         DI&SENSIONS    IN    FORSTRE's    ARMY. 

In  the  mean  time  the  citizens  of  the  town  of 
Dumfries  saw  thmselves  again  threatened  by  the 
rebel  forces,  and  assuming  an  attitude  of  resistance, 
marched  out  to  occupy  a  position  in  front  of  the 
place,  on  which  they  threw  up  some  hasty  fortifi- 
cations. At  the  same  time  they  received  intelli- 
gence from  General  Carpenter,  who  had  now  reach- 
ed Jedburgh,  that  if  they  could  but  defend  them- 
selves for  six  hours,  he  would  within  that  time  at- 
tack the  rear  of  the  enemy. 

The  news,  that  the  Dumfries  citizens  intended 
to  defend  their  town,  which  lay  in  front,  while  Car- 
penter was  prepared  to  operate  in  the  rear  of  the  re- 
bels, induced  Mr  Forster  and  his  friends  to  renew 
with  great  urgency  their  proposal  of  entering  Eng- 
land, affirming  to  their  northern  associates  that  they 
were  possessed  of  letters  of  advice,  assuring  them 
of  a  general  insurrection.  The  Scots,  worn  out 
with  the  perseverance  of  their  English  associates, 
and  unable  to  believe  that  men  would  have  deceiv- 
ed themselves  or  others  by  illusory  hopes,  when  en- 
gaged in  such  a  momentous  undertaking,  at  length 
yielded  to  their  remonstrances.  Accordingly  hav- 
ing reached  Ecclefechan  on  their  way  to  Dumfries, 
the  English  councils  prevailed,  and  the  insurgents 
halted  at  the  former  village,  turned  south,  and  di- 
rected their  march  on  Langholm,  with  the  design 
of  making  for  the  west  of  England. 

The  Earl  of  Winton  dissented  so  widely  from 
the  general  resolution,  that  he  left  the  army  with 
a  considerable  part  of  his  troop,  and  it  seemed 
for  a  tigie  as  if  he  had  renounced  the  underta- 
king entirely.  Ashamed,  however,  to  break  off 
ebruptlv  from  a  cause    which    he  embraced  from 


FORSTER   ENTERS    ENGLAND.  231 


motives  of  duty  and  conscience,  he  changed  his 
purpose,  and  again  joined  the  main  body.  But 
though  this  unfortunate  young  nobleman  returned 
to  the  fatal  standard,  it  was  remarked  that  from  this 
time  he  ceased  to  take  any  interest  in  the  debates 
or  deliberations  of  his  party,  but  seized  with  a  kind 
of  reckless  levity  upon  such  idle  opportunities  of 
amusement  as  chance  threw  in  his  way,  in  a  man- 
ner scarce  resembling  one  engaged  in  an  important 
and  perilous  enterprise. 

The  Highlanders  were  again  divided  from  their 
confederates  in  their  opinion  respecting  the  altera- 
tion of  the  line  of  march,  and  the  object  of  their 
expedition.  Many  agreed  to  march  into  England. 
Others,  to  the  number  of  four  hundred,  broke  away 
entirely  from  their  companions,  with  the  purpose  of 
returning  to  their  mountains  through  the  western  dis- 
tricts and  by  the  heads  of  the  Forth.  They  might 
have  accomplished  this,  but  for  the  difficulty  of 
finding  provisions,  which  obliged  them  to  separate 
into  small  parties,  several  of  which  were  made  pris- 
oners by  the  peasantry,  who  in  that  country  were 
chiefly  Cameronians,  and  accustomed  to  the  use  of 
arms. 

The  rest  of  the  army,  diminished  by  this  deser- 
tion, proceeded  to  Brampton,  near  Carlisle,  where 
Mr  Forster,  producing  his  commission  to  that  ef- 
fect, was  recognised  as  General  of  King  James's 
forces  in  England.  It  is  possible,  that  the  desire 
to  obtain  the  supreme  command  of  the  army  might 
have  made  this  gentlman  the  more  anxious  for 
having  the  march  directed  on  his  native  country  ;, 
and  his  first  exploit  in  his  new  capacity  seemed  to 


232        SUCCESS  OF  THE  JACOBITE  GENERAL. 

give  a  lustre  to  his  undertaking,  although  the  suc- 
cess was  more  owing  to  the  fears  of  the  opposite 
party,  than  to  any  particular  display  of  courage  ou 
the  part  of  the  Jacobite  General  and  his  little  army. 

It  must  be  observ'^ed,  that  the  horse-militia  of 
Westmoreland,  and  of  the  northern  parts  of  Lanca- 
shire, had  been  drawn  out  to  oppose  the  rebels ;  and 
now  the  possr  comitafus  of  Cumberland,  amount- 
ing to  twelve  thousand  men,  were  assembled  along 
with  them  at  Penrith,  by  summons  from  Lord  Lons- 
dale, sheriff  of  the  county.  But  being  a  mere  un- 
disciplined mob,  ill-armed,  and  worse  arrayed, 
they  did  not  wait  for  an  attack  either  from  the  caval- 
ry or  the  Highlanders,  but  dispersed  in  every  direc- 
tion, leaving  to  the  victors  the  field  of  battle,  cover- 
ed with  arms  and  a  considerable  number  of  horses. 
Lonsdale,  deserted  by  every  one,  save  about  twenty 
of  his  own  servants,  was  obliged  to  make  his  es- 
cape, and  found  shelter  in  the  old  castle  of  Appleby. 

In  marching  through  Cumberland  and  West- 
moreland, there  was  little  seen  of  that  enthusiasm 
in  the  Jacobite  cause  which  the  English  officers 
had  taught  their  associates  to  expect.  Manchester 
was  on  this,  as  upon  a  later  occasion,  the  first 
town  where  the  inhabitants  seemed  disposed  to 
embark  in  the  insurrection,  and  form  a  company 
for  that  purpose.  Intimation  of  their  friendly  dis- 
position reached  the  insurgents  at  Lancaster,  and- 
encouraged  them  to  advance.  It  was,  indeed,  time 
that  their  friends  should  join  them,  for  they  had 
daily  news  of  troops  marching  to  oppose  and  sur- 
round them.  On  their  side  they  resolved  to  extend 
themselves,  the  more  easilv  to  gather  fresh  forces ; 


FORSTER  S  DESIGN  TO  ATTACK  LIVERPOOL.    233 

and  having  moved  from  Lancaster  to  Preston,  they 
resolved  to  possess  themselves  of  Warrington 
bridge,  with  a  view  to  securing  Liverpool. 

While  they  were  scheming  an  attack  on  this  cel- 
ebrated seaport,  which  its  citizens  were  preparing 
to  defend  with  much  vigour,  the  government  forces, 
which  had  assembled  around  them,  were  advancing 
towards  them  on  several  quarters. 

It  seems  strange,  that  while  possessing  a  strong 
party  of  friends  in  the  country,  being  a  very  large 
proportion  of  the  landed  gentry,  with  a  considera- 
ble proportion  of  the  populace,  the  insurgents 
should  nevertheless  have  suffered  themselves  to  be 
so  completely  surprised.  But  the  spirit  of  delusion 
which  possessed  the  whole  party,  and  pervaded  all 
their  proceedings,  was  as  remarkable  here  as  on 
other  occasions.  While  Forster  and  his  compan- 
ions were  thinking  of  extending  the  fire  of  ins«r- 
i'ection  to  Manchester  and  Liverpool,  General  Wil- 
lis, who  commanded  in  Cheshire  for  King  George, 
had  taken  measures  for  extinguishing  it  entirely.. 
This  active  general  issued  orders  to  several  regi- 
ments, chiefly  of  horse  and  dragoons  quartered  in 
the  neighbouring  counties,  appointing  them  to  ren- 
dezvous at  Warrington  Bridge  on  the  10th  of  No- 
vember, on  which  day  he  proposed  to  place  him- 
self at  their  head,  and  dispute  with  the  rebels  their 
approach  to  Manchester.  At  the  same  time,  Willis 
entered  into  communication  with  General  Carpen- 
ter, whose  unwearied  exertions  had  dogged  the  in- 
surgents from  Northumberland,  and  was  now  ad- 
rancing  upon  them. 

These  tidings  came  like  a  thunderbolt  on  Fors- 
20* 


234    THE  JACOBITE  ARMY  AT  PRESTON. 

ter's  army.  Forsterhad  but  a  choice  of  diificulties, 
namely,  either  to  march  out  and  dispute  with  Ma- 
jor-General Willis  the  passage  of  the  river  Ribble, 
by  which  Preston  is  covered,  or  abide  within  an 
open  town,  and  defend  it  by  such  assistance  from 
fortifications,  barricades,  and  batteries,  as  could  be 
erected  within  a  few  hours. 

The  first  of  these  courses  had  its  advantages. 
The  bridge  across  the  Ribble  was  long,  narrow,  and 
might  have  been  easily  defended,  especially  as 
there  was  a  party  of  one  hundred  chosen  Highland- 
ers stationed  there,  under  the  command  of  John  Far- 
quharson  of  Invercauld,  a  chief  of  great  character 
for  courage  and  judgment ;  and  who,  though  Gene- 
ral Willis  was  approaching  very  near  to  the  bridge, 
might  have  been  relied  on  as  secure  of  maintaining 
his  ground  till  succours  were  dispatched  from  the 
town.  Beyond  the  bridge  there  extended  a  long 
and  deep  lane,  bordered  with  hedges,  well  situated 
for  defence,  especially  against  cavalry.  All  this 
was  in  favour  of  the  bridge  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
if  Forster  had  drawn  his  squadrons  of  gentlemen 
out  of  Preston,  he  must  have  exposed  them  to  the 
rough  shock  of  ordinary  troops,  which  they  were 
neither  mounted  nor  armed  so  as  to  sustain.  It 
was  probably  this  which  determined  the  Jacobite 
leader  to  maintain  his  defence  in  the  town  of  Pres- 
ton itselt*  rather  than  in  front  of  it.  The  insur- 
gents took  judicious  measures  for  this  purpose,  and 
pursued  them  with  zeal  and  spirit.  Four  barri- 
cades were  hastily  erected.  The  Earl  of  Der- 
wentwater,  stripping  to  the  waistcoat,  encouraged 
\\w.  men  to   labour  as    well  by  hi^  own   example  as 


DEFENCE    OF    PRESTON.  235 


his  liberality,  aud   the  works   were  speedily  com- 
pleted. 

One  of  these  barriers  was  situated  a  little  below 
the  church,  and  was  supported  by  the  gentleroen 
volunteers,  who  mustered  in  the  churchyard.  The 
defence  was  commanded  by  Brigadier  Macintosh. 
The  second  was  formed  at  the  end  of  a  lane,  which 
was  defended  by  Lord  Charles  Murray ;  the  third 
was  called  the  Windmill  barricade — it  was  held  out 
by  the  Laird  of  Macintosh,  chief  of  the  name  ;  the 
fourth  barricade  was  drawn  across  the  street  lead- 
ing towards  Liverpool,  and  was  stoutly  manned  by 
Hunter,  the  Northumbrian  freebooter,  and  his  moss- 
troopers. Each  barricade  was  protected  by  two 
pieces  of  cannon ;  and  the  houses  on  both  sides  of 
the  street  were  occupied  by  defenders,  so  as  to 
pour  a  destructive  flanking  fire  on  any  assailant. 
General  Willis,  having  actually  surveyed  the  de- 
fences, resolved  upon  attacking  them. 

On  Saturday,  the  12th  of  November,  being  the 
day  previous  to  that  on  which  the  battle  of  SherifF- 
muir  was  fought,  General  Willis  commenced  his 
operations  upon  the  town  of  Preston  by  a  double 
attack.  The  barricade  on  the  street  below  the 
church  was  assaulted  with  great  fury ;  but  so  in- 
supportable a  fire  was  opened  from  the  defences 
and  the  houses  adjacent,  that  the  assailants  were 
beat  oft'  with  considerable  loss.  It  would  seem, 
that  to  aid  him  in  the  defence  of  his  post,  Brigadier 
Macintosh  had  called  in  some  soldiers  who  had 
been  posted  in  the  street  leading  to  Wigan.  Pres- 
ton's regiment  (well  known  as  the  Old  Cameronian, 
And  forming  part  of  Willis's  attacking  force^i  wer<^ 


236  DEFENCE    OF    PRESTON 


therefore  enabled  to  penetrate  through  that  avenue, 
seizing  two  houses  which  overlooked  the  town,did 
the  defendants  more  injury  than  they  sustained  from 
any  other  attack.  The  barrieade,  commanded  by 
Lord  Charles  Murray,  was  in  like  manner,  stoutly 
attacked,  and  fiercely  defended  ;  but  the  Jacobite 
officer  receiving  a  reinforcement  of  fifty  volunteers, 
his  resistance  was  ultimately  successful.  Cap- 
tains Hunter  and  Douglas  likewise  made  a  desper- 
ate defence  at  the  barrier  intrusted  to  them,  and  the 
assault  upon  the  post  defended  by  the  Chief  of 
Macintosh,  was  equally  fatal  to  the  assailants. 

When  the  soldiers  of  Willis  retired  from  their 
various  points  of  attack  they  set  fire,  according 
to  their  orders,  to  the  houses  betwixt  them  and  the 
barricades.  By  the  light  aflforded  by  this  confla- 
gration, the  skirmish  was  carried  on  during  the 
night ;  and  had  not  the  weather  been  uncommonly 
still,  Preston,  which  was  the  scene  of  contest,must 
have  been  burned  to  the  ground. 

Although  the  insurgents  had  preserved  the  ad- 
vantage in  every  attack,  it  was  evident,  that,  cut  off 
from  all  assistance,  and  cooped  up  in  the  streets 
of  a  burning  town,  where  they  had  but  few  men  to 
maintain  an  extended  circle  of  defence,  nothing 
short  of  a  miracle  could  relieve  them.  General 
Willis,  whilst  directing  the  attack  on  the  barricades^ 
had  at  the  same  time,  guarded  every  pass  by  which 
the  devoted  band  could  escape.  Of  those  who 
desperately  attempted  to  sally,  several  were  cut  to 
pieces  ;  and  it  was  but  very  few  who  escaped  by 
hewing  their  way  through  the  enemy. 

On  the  morning  of  the  13th,  being  the  day  after 


BY    THE    JACOBITE    ARMY.  237 

the  attack,  the  situation  of  Forster  and  his  army- 
became  yet  more  desperate.  General  Carpenter, 
so  long  their  pursuer,  now  came  up  with  so  many 
additional  forces,  chiefly  cavalry,  as  completed  the 
blockade  of  the  place,  and  left  the  besieged  no  hope 
of  escape  or  relief.  Willis,  as  inferior  in  rank,  of- 
fered to  resign,  of  course,  the  charge  of  the  siege 
to  his  superior  officer ;  but  General  Carpenter  gen- 
erously refused  to  take  the  command,  observing, 
that  Willis  deserved  the  honour  of  finishing  the 
affair  which  he  had  began  so  auspiciously.  The 
dispositions  of  the  latter  general  were  therefore  so 
,  actively  followed  up,  that  the  blockade  of  the  town 
was  effectually  completed,  and  the  fate  of  the  rebels 
became  inevitable. 

The  scene  of  unavoidable  destruction  had  differ- 
ent effects  upon  the  different  characters  of  the  unfor- 
tunate insurgents  inPreston,in  like  manner  as  the  ap- 
proach of  imminent  peril  has  upon  domesticated  and 
savage  animals  when  they  are  brought  to  extrem- 
ity,— the  former  are  cowed  into  submission,  while 
the  latter,  brought  to  bay,  become  more  desperately 
ferocious  in  their  resistance.  The  English  gentle- 
men began  to  think  upon  the  possibility  of  saving 
their  lives,  and  entertained  the  hope  of  returning 
once  more  to  the  domestic  enjoyments  of  their  homes 
and  their  estates ;  while  the  Highlanders,  and 
most  of  the  Scottish  insurgents,  even  of  the  higher 
classes,  declared  for  sallying  out  and  dying  like 
men  of  honour,  with  sword  in  hand,  rather  than 
holding  their  lives  on  the  base  tenure  of  submis- 
sion. 

Such  being  their  different  views  of  the  measures 
to  be  adopted,  the   English  determined  to  accom- 


238  THE    JACOBITE    ARMY 

plish  a  capitulation  at  all  events  ;  and  Oxburgh, 
an  Irish  Catholic,  who  had  been  Forster's  tutor  in 
military  matters,  went  out  to  propose  a  surrender  to 
the  English  generals.  The  mission  was  coldly  re- 
ceived, and  he  was  distinctly  given  to  understand, 
that  no  terms  would  be  granted  excepting  those  of 
unconditional  surrender,  with  the  sole  provision  that 
they  should  be  secured  from  immediate  execution. 
He  returned  to  the  town,  and  the  errand  on  which 
he  had  visited  the  enemy's  position  being  under- 
stood, General  Forster  was  nearly  pistoled  by  a 
Scottish  gentleman,  named  Murray,  and  his  life  on- 
ly saved  by  a  friendly  hand,  which  struck  the  wea- 
pon upwards  in  the  act  of  its  being  discharged. 

Captain  Dalzell,  brotner  of  the  Earl  of  Carn- 
wath,  then  went  out  in  the  name  of  the  Scots,  but 
could  obtain  no  more  favourable  terms.  Some 
time,  however,  was  gained,  in  which  the  principal 
leaders  had  time  to  consider  that  Government  might 
be  satisfied  vrith  a  few  examples,  while  the  greater 
part  of  the  insurgents,  in  which  every  one's  confi- 
dence in  his  individual  good  luck  led  him  to  hope  he 
would  be  included,  and  would  escape  at  least  the 
extremity  of  punishment. 

After  the  Scots,  and  especially  the  Highlanders, 
had  persisted  for  some  time  in  their  determination  of 
resistance,  they  at  length  found  themselves  obliged 
to  surrender  on  no  better  terms  than  the  English, 
which  amounted  only  to  this,  that  they  should  not 
be  instantly  put  to  the  sword.  Their  leaders  were 
surrendered  as  hostages  ;  and  at  length,  after  man- 
ifesting the  greatest  unv/illingness  to  give  up  their 
arms,  they  accepted  the  capitulation,  if  such  it  could 
be  called.     It  certainly  appears,   that  by  surrender- 


SURRENDER    AT    DISCRETION  239 


ing  at  discretion,  the  greater  part  of  them  expected 
at  least  to  save  their  lives. 

On  lading  down  their  arms,  the  unhappy  garrison 
were  enclosed  in  one  of  the  churches,  and  treated 
with  considerable  rigour,  being  stripped  and  ill-used 
by  the  soldiery.*  x\bout  fourteen  hundred  meti,  of 
all  sorts,  were  included  in  the  surrender ;  amongst 
whom  there  were  about  two  hundred  domestic  ser- 
vants, followers  of  the  gentlemen  who  had  assumed 
arms,  about  three  hundred  gentlemen  volunteers, 
the  rest  consisting  of  Brigadier  Macintosh's  com- 
mand of  Highlanders.  Six  of  the  prisoners  were 
condemned  to  be  shot  by  martial  law,  as  holding 
commissions  under  the  government  against  which 
they  had  borne  arms.  Lord  Charles  Murray  ob- 
tained a  reprieve  with  difficulty,  through  the  inter- 

*  The  laced  clothes  of  the  gentlemen  \v:is  tlie  temptation  to  this 
outrage.  The  prisoners  were  obliged  to  strip  the  pews  of  their 
baize  linings,  in  order  to  apply  the  cloth  to  the  purpose  of  decent 
covering.  A  family  tradition  runs  thus:  A  gentleman,  who  fought 
as  a  trooper  in  one  of  the  Scottish  squadrons,  was  shot  through 
the  body  at  the  barricade.  He  was  conceived  to  be  mortally 
wounded,  and  lay  stretched  in  a  pew  in  the  church,  an  affection- 
ate comrade  supporting  his  head,  and  expecting  every  moment  to 
receive  his  last  sigh.  After  much  sickness,  the  wounded  man's 
stomach  is  said  to  have  relieved  itself  by  discharging  a  piece  of  his 
scarlet  waistcoat,  which  the  ball  had  carried  into  his  body.  The 
assistant,  much  amazed  at  such  a  phenomenon,  being  also  one  of 
that  class  of  men  who  cannot  forbear  a  jest,  even  inrthe  most  mel- 
ancholy circumstances,  observed,  "  Heigh,  Walter,  I  am  fain  to 
see  you  have  a  stock  of  braid  cloth  in  your  bowels;  and  since  it  is 
sae,  I  wish  you  would  exert  yourself  again,  and  bring  up  as  much 
as  would  make  a  pair  of  breeks,  for  I  am  in  mickle  need  o'  thera." 
The  wounded  man  afterwards  recovered- 


210  JACOBITE    PRISONERS    OF    RANK 

est  of  his  friends.  Little  mercy  was  shown  to  the 
misguided  private  men,  whose  sole  olleuce  was 
having  complied  with  what  was  in  their  eyes  a  pa- 
ramount duty,  the  obedience  to  their  chiefs.  Very 
many  underwent  the  fate  which  made  them  so  un- 
willing to  enter  England,  namely  that  of  banish- 
ment to  the  plantations  in  America. 

The  prisoners  of  most  note  were  sent  up  to  Lon- 
don, into  which  they  were  introduced  in  a  kind  of 
procession,  which  did  less  dishonour  to  the  suffer- 
ers than  to  the  mean  minds  who  planned  and  en- 
joyed such  an  ignoble  triumph.  By  way  of  bal- 
ancing the  influence  of  the  Tory  mob,  whose  vio- 
lences in  burning  chapels,  &c.,  had  been  of  a  for- 
midable and  highly  criminal  character,  plans  had 
been  adopted  by  government  to  excite  and  main- 
tain a  rival  spirit  of  tumult  among  such  of  the  vul- 
gar as  were  called,  or  called  themselves,  the  Low 
Church  party.  Party  factions  often  turn  upon  the 
most  frivolous  badges  of  distinction.  As  the  To- 
ries had  affected  a  particular  passion  for  ale,  as  a 
national  and  truly  English  potation,  their  parlia- 
mentary associations  taking  the  title  of  the  Octo- 
ber and  the  March  Clubs  ;  so,  in  the  spirit  of  op- 
position, the  Whigs  of  the  lower  rank  patronised 
beer,  (distinguished,  according  to  Dr  Johnson, 
from  ale,  by  being  either  older  or  smaller,)  and 
mug-houses  were  established,  held  by  landlords  of 
orthodox  Whig  principles,  where  this  pro testant  and 
revolutionary  liquor  was  distributed  in  liberal  quan- 
tities, and  they  speedily  were  thronged  by  a  set  of 
customers,  whose  fists  and  sticks  were  as  prompt 
to  assault  the  admirers  of  High  Church  and  Or- 


SENT    TO    LONDON.  241 


mond,  as  the  Tories  were  ready  to  defend  them. 
It  was  for  the  gTatification  of  the  frequenters  of 
these  mug-houses,  as  they  were  called,  that  the 
entrance  of  the  Preston  prisoners  into  London  was 
graced  with  the  mock  honours  of  a  triumphal  pro- 
cession. 

The  prisoners,  most  of  them  men  of  birth  and 
education,  were,  on  approaching  the  capital,  all 
pinioned  with  cords  like  the  vilest  criminals.  This 
ceremony  they  underwent  at  Barnet.  At  High- 
gate  they  were  met  by  a  large  detachment  of  horse 
grenadiers  and  foot  guards,  preceded  by  a  body  of 
citizens  decently  dressed,  who  shouted  to  give  ex- 
ample to  their  mob.  Halters  were  put  upon  the 
horses  ridden  by  the  prisoners,  and  each  man's 
horse  was  led  by  a  private  soldier.  Forster,  a  man 
of  high  family,  and  still  Member  of  Parliament  for 
Northumberland,  was  exposed  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  rest.  A  large  mob  of  the  patrons  of  the 
mug-houses  attended  on  the  occasion,  beating  up- 
on warming-pans,  (in  allusion  to  the  vulgar  ac- 
count of  the  birth  of  the  Chevalier  de  St  George,) 
and  the  prisoners,  with  all  sort  of  scurrilous  abuse 
and  insult,  were  led  through  the  streets  of  the  city 
in  this  species  of  unworthy  triumph,  and  deposited 
in  the  jails  of  Newgate,  the  Marshalsea,  and  other 
prisoners  in  the  metropolis. 

In  consequence  of  this  sudden  increase  of  ten- 
ants, a  most  extraordinary  change  took  place  in  the 
discipline  of  these  melancholy  abodes.  When  the 
High  Church  party  in  London  began  to  recover  the 
astonishment  with  which  they  had  witnessed  the 
suppression  of  the  insurrection,  they  could  not  look 
VOL.  I.  21 


242  JACOBITE    PRISONERS    IN    LONDON. 

back  with  much  satisfaction  on  their  own  passive 
behaviour  during  the  contest,  if  it  could  be  called 
one,  and  now  endeavoured  to  make  up  for  it  by 
liberally  supplying  the  prisoners,  v.hom  they  regard- 
ed as  martyrs  in  their  cause,  with  money  and  pro- 
visions, in  which  wine  was  not  forgotten.  The  fair 
sex  are  always  disposed  to  be  compassionate,  and 
certainly  were  not  least  so  in  this  case,  where  the 
objects  of  pity  were  many  of  them  gallant  young 
cavaliers,  sufferers  in  a  cause  which  they  had  been 
taught  to  consider  as  sacred.  The  consequence 
was,  that  the  prisons  overflowed  with  wine  and  good 
cheer,  and  the  younger  and  more  thoughtless  part 
of  the  inmates  turned  to  revelling  and  drowning  in 
liquor  all  more  serious  thoughts  of  their  situation  ; 
so  that  even  Lord  Derwentwater  himself  said  of 
his  followers,  that  they  were  fitter  inhabitants  for 
bridewell  than  a  state  prison.  Money,  it  is  said, 
circulated  so  plentifully  among  them,  that  when  it 
v»  as  ditficult  to  obtain  silver  for  a  guinea  in  the 
streets,  nothing  was  so  easy  as  to  find  change, 
V,  hether  of  gold  or  silver,  in  the  jail.  A  handsome, 
high-spirited  young  Highland  gentleman,  whom  the 
pamphlets  of  the  day  call  Bottair,  (one  of  the  fami- 
ly of  Butter  in  Athole,)  made  such  an  impression 
OR  the  fair  visitors  who  cauie  to  minister  to  the 
wants  of  the  Jacobite  captives,  that  some  reputa- 
tions were  put  in  peril  by  the  excess  of  their  at- 
tentions to  this  favourite  object  of  compassion. 

When  such  a  golden  shower  descends  on  a  pris- 
on, the  jailor  generally  secures  to  himself  the  larg- 
est share  of  it ;  and  those  prisoners  who  desired 
>eparate  beds,    or  the  slightest   arrorcmodation  in 


ESCAPE    OF    FORSTER   AND    MACINTOSH.     243 


point  of  lodging,  had  to  purchase  them  at  a  rate 
which  would  have  paid  for  many  years  the  rent  of 
the  best  houses  in  St  James's  Square  of  Piccadil- 
ly. Dungeons,  the  names  of  which  indicate  their 
gloomy  character,  as  the  Lion's  Den,  the  Middle 
Dark,  and  the  like,  were  rented  at  the  same  ex- 
travagant prices,  and  were  not  only  filled  with  pris- 
oners, but  abounded  with  good  cheer. 

These  riotous  scenes  went  on  the  more  gaily 
that  almost  all  had  nursed  a  hope,  that  their  having 
surrendered  at  discretion  would  be  admitted  as  a 
ptotection  for  their  lives.  But  when  numerous 
bills  of  high  treason  were  found  against  them,  es- 
cape from  prison  began  to  be  thought  of,  which  the 
command  of  money,  and  the  countenance  of  friends 
without  doors,  as  well  as  the  general  structure  of 
the  jails,  rendered  more  easy  than  could  have  been 
expected.  Thus,  on  the  10th  of  April,  1716, 
Thomas  Forster  escaped  from  Newgate,  by  means 
of  false  keys,'  and,  having  all  things  prepared,  got 
safely  to  France.  On  the  10th  of  May,  Brigadier 
Macintosh,  whom  we  have  so  often  mentioned, 
with  fourteen  other  gentlemen,  chiefly  Scottish, 
took  an  opportunity  to  escape  in  the  following  man- 
ner. The  Brigadier  having  found  means  to  rid 
himself  of  his  irons,  and  coming  down  stairs  about 
eleven  at  night,  he  placed  himself  close  by  the  door 
of  the  jail ;  and  as  it  vv^as  opened'  to  admit  a  ser- 
vant at  that  time  of  night,  (no  favourable  example 
of  prison  discipline,)  he  knocked  down  the  jailor, 
and  made  his  escape  with  his  companions,  some  of 
whom  were  retaken  in  the  streets,  from  not  know- 
u\:>:  whither  to  flv. 


244  ESCAPE    OF    IIEPBLR>:    OF    KEITH. 

Among  the  fugitives  who  broke  prison  with  Mac- 
intosh, was  Robert  Hepburn  of  Keith,  the  same 
person  in  whose  family  befel  the  lamentable  occur- 
rence before  mentioned. 

This  gentleman  had  pinioned  the  arms  of  tliu 
turnkey  by  an  eflfort  of  strength,  and  effected  his 
escape  into  the  open  street  without  pursuit.  But 
he  was  at  a  loss  whither  to  fly,  or  where  to  find  a 
friendly  place  of  refuge.  His  ^vife  and  family  were, 
ne  knew,  in  London  ;  but  how,  in  that  great  city, 
was  he  to  discover  them,  especially  as  they  most 
probably  were  residing  there  under  feigned  name*  ? 
While  he  was  agitated  by  this  uncertainty,  and 
fearful  of  making  the  least  enquiry,  even  had  he 
known  in  what  words  to  express  it,  he  saw  at  a 
window  in  the  street  an  ancient  piece  of  plate,  call- 
ed the  Keith  Tankard,  which  had  long  belonged  to 
his  family.  He  immediately  conceived  that  his 
wife  and  children  must  be  inhabitants  of  the  lodg- 
ings, and  entering,  without  asking  questions,  was 
received  in  their  arms.  They  knew  of  his  purpose 
of  escape,  and  took  lodgings  as  near  the  jail  as  they 
could,  that  they  might  atford  him  immediate  refuge; 
but  dared  not  give  him  any  hint  where  they  were, 
otherwise  than  by  setting  the  well-known  flagon 
where  it  might  by  good  fortune  catch  his  eye.  He 
escaped  to  France. 

The  noblemen  who  had  placed  themselves  at  the 
head  of  the  rebellion  were  now  called  to  answer 
for  their  guilt ;  and  articles  of  impeachment  of  high 
treason  were  exhibited  by  the  House  of  Commons 
against  the    Earl   of  Derwentwater,  and  the  Lord 


DERWENTWATER  AND  KENMURR  EXECUTEQ.  245 

Widdrington,  in  England ;  and  the  Earls  of  Nithis- 
dale,  Winton,  and  Carnwath,  Lord  Viscount  Ken- 
mure,  and  Lord  Nairne,  in  Scotland.  They  sever- 
ally pleaded  Guilty  to  the  articles,  excepting  the 
Earl  of  Winton,  who  pleaded  Not  Guilty. 

Lord  Derwentwater  and  Lord  Kenmure  suffered 
death  on  the  24th  February,  1715-16.  The  Earl 
of  Derwentwater,  who  was  an  amiable  private 
character,  hospital  and  generous,  brave  and  hu- 
mane, revoked  on  the  scaffold  his  plea  of  Guilty, 
and  died  firmly  avowing  the  political  creed 
for  which  he  suffered.  Lord  Kenmure,  a  quiet, 
modest  gentleman,  shared  Derwentwater's  fate  ;  and 
he  showed  the  same  firmness.  There  is  a  tradition 
that  the  body  of  Lord  Derwentwater  was  carried 
down  to  Westmoreland  in  great  pomp,  the  proces- 
sion, however,  moving  only  by  night,  and  resting 
by  day  in  chapels  dedicated  to  the  exercise  of  the 
Catholic  religion,  where  the  funeral  services  of  that 
church  were  performed  over  the  body  during  the 
day,  until  the  approach  of  night  permitted  them  to 
resume  their  progress  northward ;  and  that  the  re- 
mains of  this  unfortunate  nobleman  were  finally  de- 
posited in  his  ancestor's  burial  place  at  Dilstone 
Hall.  His  large  estates  were  confiscated  to  the 
crown,  and  now  form  the  valuable  property  of 
Greenwich  Hospital. 

Charles  Ratcliff,  brother  to  the  Earl  of  Derwent- 
water, and  doomed  to  share  his  fate,  after  a  long 
interval  of  years,  saved  himself  for  the  time  by 
breaking  prison. 

But  what  chiefly  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
public,  was  the  escape  of  the  Earl  of  Nithisdale, 
21* 


246  ESCAPE    OF    :-:iTIIISDALE. 

who  was  destined  to  have  shared  the  fate  of  Der- 
went water  and  Kenmure. 

The  utmost  intercession  had  been  made,  in  eve- 
ry possible  shape,  to  save  the  lives  of  these  unfor- 
tunate noblemen,  and  their  companions  in  misfor- 
tune, but  it  had  been  found  unavailing.  Lady 
Nithisdale,  the  bold  and  affectionate  vrife  of  the 
condemned  Earl,  having  in  vain  thrown  herself  at 
the  feet  of  the  reigning  monarch  to  implore  mercy 
for  her  husband,  devised  a  plan  for  his  escape  of 
the  same  kind  with  that  since  practised  by  Madame 
Laveiette.  She  was  admitted  to  see  her  husband 
in  the  Tower  upon  the  last  day  vrhich,  according  to 
his  sentence,  he  had  to  live.  She  had  with  her 
two  female  confidants.  One  brought  on  her  per- 
son a  double  suit  of  female  clothes.  This  individual 
was  instantly  dismissed,  when  relieved  of  her  se- 
cond dress.  The  other  person  gave  her  own 
clothes  to  the  Earl,  attiring  herself  in  those  which 
had  been  provided.  Muffled  in  a  riding-hood  and 
cloak,  the  Earl,  in  the  character  of  a  lady's  maid, 
holding  a  handkerchief  to  his  eyes,  as  one  over- 
whelmed ^^4th  deep  alfliction,  passed  the  sentinels, 
and  being  safely  conveyed  out  of  the  Tower,  made 
his  escape  to  France.  We  are  startled  to  find, 
that,  according  to  the  rigour  of  the  law,  the  life  of 
the  heroic  Countess  was  considered  as  responsible 
for  that  of  the  husband  whom  she  had  saved ;  but 
she  contrived  to  conceal  herself. 

Lord  Winton  received  sentence  of  death  after 
trial,  but  also  made  his  ej^jgipe  from  the  Tower.  As 
Charles  Ratcliff  had  already  broke  prison  about  the 
^amc  lime,  we  mar  conclude  cillicr  that  the  jailors 


EXECUTION    OF    THE    REV.    WM.    PAUL.        247 

and  marshals  did  not  exhibit  much  vigilance  on  this 
occasion,  or  that  the  prisoners  found  means  of  lull- 
ing it  to  sleep.  The  Earl  of  Carnwath,  Lords 
Widdrington  and  Nairne,  were,  aftei  a  long  im- 
prisonment, pardoned  as  far  as  their  lives  were  con- 
cerned, in  consequence  of  a  general  bill  of  in- 
demnity. 

Of  inferior  persons,  about  twenty  of  the  most  re- 
solute of  th^  Preston  prisoners  were  executed  at 
that  place  and  at  Manchester,  and  four  or  five  suf- 
fered at  Tyburn.  Amongst  these  the  execution  of 
William  Paul,  a  clergyman,  a  true  friend,  as  he 
boasted  himself,  of  the  anti-revolutionary  church  of 
England,  made  a  strong  impression  on  those  of  his 
party. 

Thus  closed  the  Rebellion  and  its  consequences, 
so  far  as  England  was  concerned.  We  must  now 
take  a  view  of  its  last  scenes  as  exhibited  in  Scot- 
land 


[  248  ] 


CHAP.  XII. 

The  arrival  of  Dutch  Troops  to  the  Assistance  of  Goverament, 
the  news  of  the  Surrender  at  Preston,  and  the  Desertion  of  tlie 
Clan  Fraser  to  the  Whij  Interest,  all  tend  to  discourage  the  Jac- 
obite Army — A  General  Council  of  the  Jacobite  Leaders  breaks 
up  without  coming  to  any  Conclusion,  one  Party  desiring  to  ca- 
pitulate, while  Mar  wishes  to  keep  the  Army  together  till  the  Ar- 
rival of  the  Chevalier — An  Offer  of  Submission,  upon  Terms, 
made  to  Argyle,  and  Rejected — Arrival  of  the  Chevalier,  which 
fails  to  restore  the  Courage  of  his  Adherents— Exertions  of  Ar- 
gyle to  put  an  end  to  the  Rebellion — His  march  towards  Perth — 
Exultation  of  the  Jacobite  Highlanders  in  the  Prospect  of  an- 
other battle— their  Fury  and  Despair  on  its  being  hinted  that  it 
was  intended  to  Retreat — A  Retreat  resolved  on. 


We  left  the  insurgents  when  the  melancholy 
news  of  the  termination  of  the  campaign  of  Forster, 
with  his  Highland  auxiliaries,  at  the  barricades  of 
Preston,  had  not  yet  reached  them ;  the  moment  it 
did,  all  hopes  of  a  general  insurrection  in  England, 
or  any  advantage  being  obtained  there,  were  for 
ever  ended. 

The  regular  troops  which  had  been  detained  in 
England  to  suppress  the  northern  insurgents,  were 
now  set  at  liberty,  and  Mar  could  no  longer  rely  up- 
on Argyle's  remaining  inactive  for  want  of  men. 
Besides",  the  Estate  of  the  United  Provinces  had 
now,  upon  the  remonstrance  of  General  Cadogan, 
dispatched  for  Britain  tb^  auxiliary  forces  which 
they  were  bound  by  treaty  to  furnish  in  case  of  in- 
vasion, and  three  thousand  of  them  had  landed  at 


SIMON    PRASER.  249 


Deptford.  The  other  three  thousand  Dutch  troops, 
designed  for  ports  in  the  north,  had  been  dispersed 
by  a  storm,  and  driven  into  Harwich,  Yarmouth, 
and  elsewhere,  which  induced  the  government  to 
order  those  at  Deptford,  as  the  most  disposable  part 
of  this  auxiliary  force,  to  move  instantly  down  to 
Scotland. 

Events  equally  unfavourable  to  the  rebels  were" 
taking  place  in  the  North  of  Scotland ;  and,  in  or- 
der to  ascertain  the  progress  of  these,  it  is  necessa- 
ry to  trace  some  passages  of  the  life  of  Simon  Fra- 
ser,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  characters  of  his 
time. 

He  was  by  birth  the  nearest  male  heir  to  the  es- 
tate of  Lovat,  and  to  the  dignity  of  Chief  of  the  Fra- 
sers — no  empty  honour,  since  the  clan  contained  a 
following  of  from  seven  hundred  to  a  thousand  men. 
The  chief  last  deceased,  however,  had  left  a  daugli- 
ter,  and  Simon  was  desirous,  by  marriage  with  this 
young  lady,  to  unite  her  pretensions  to  the  chiei- 
tainsliip  and  estate  with  his  own.  As  his  character 
was  bad,  and  his  circumstances  accounted  desper- 
ate, the  widowed  mother  of  the  young  heiress,  a  la- 
dy of  the  house  of  Athole,  was  averse  to  this  match, 
and  her  powerful  family  countenanced  her  repug- 
nance. Being  a  man  of  a  daring  character,  deep 
powers  of  dissimulation,  and  master  of  the  tempers 
of  the  lower  class  of  Highlanders,  Simon  found  it 
no  difficult  matter  to  obtain  the  assistance  of  a 
strong  party  of  Frasers,  chiefly  desperate  men,  to 
assist  in  a  scheme  of  seizing  on  the  person  of  the 
young  heiress.  She  escaped  his  grasp,  but  her 
mother,  the  widow  of  the  late  Lord  Lovat,  fell  into 


250  SOME    ACCOUNT    OF 

his  po\\  er.  Equally  short-sighted  as  unprincipled, 
Fraser  imagined  that  by  marrying  this  lady  instead 
of  her  daughter,  he  would  secure,  through  her  large 
jointure,  some  legal  interest  in  the  estate.  With 
this  view  he  accomplished  a  forced  marriage  be- 
twixt the  Dowager  Lady  Lovat  and  himself,  and 
enforced  his  rights,  as  her  pretended  husband,  with 
the  most  brutal  violence.  For  this  abominable 
and  atrocious  outrage  against  a  matron,  widow  of 
his  own  near  connexion,  and  a  sister  of  the  power- 
ful Marquis  of  Athole,  letters  of  fire  and  sword 
were  granted  against  Fraser  and  his  adherents, 
and  outlawed  by  the  High  Court  of  Justiciary,  he 
was  forced  to  fly  to  France.  Here  he  endeavoured 
to  recommend  himself  at  the  court  of  St  Germains, 
by  aff'ecting  much  zeal  for  the  Jacobite  cause,  and 
pretending  to  great  interest  with  the  Highland 
chiefs,  and  the  power  of  rendering  eftectual  service 
amongst  them.  The  Chevalier  de  St  George  and 
the  French  King  were  aware  of  the  infamy  of  the 
man's  character,  and  distrusted  the  proposal  which 
he  laid  before  them,  for  raising  an  insurrection  in 
-the  Highlands.  Mary  of  Este,  more  credulous, 
was  disposed  to  trust  him ;  and  he  was  detached 
on  a  Jacobite  mission,  which  he  instantly  betrayed 
to  the  Duke  of  Queensbury,  and  which  created 
much  disturbance  in  the  year  1703,  as  we  have  no- 
ticed in  its  place.  His  double  treachery  being 
discovered,  Simon  Frazer  was,  on  his  return 
to  France,  thrown  into  the  Bastile,  where  he 
remained  for  a  considerable  time.  Dismissed 
from  this  imprisonment,  he  waited  for  an  oppor- 
tunity where  he  might  .serve  his  own  interest,  and 
tcivence    his    claims    upon     the    chieftainship   of 


SIMON    FRASER.  251 


the  clan  Fraser  and  the  estate  of  Lovat,  by  adopt- 
ing the  political  side  betwixt  the  contending  par- 
ties which  should  bid  fairest  to  serve  his  purpose. 

The  time  seemed  now  arrived,  when,  by  the  in- 
surrection of  Mar,  open  war  was  declared  betwixt 
the  parties.  His  cousin,  the  heiress  of  Lovat, 
had  been  married  to  MacKenzie  of  Fraserdale, 
who,  acting  as  chief  of  his  wife's  clan,  had  sum- 
moned the  Frasers  to  arms,  and  led  a  body  of  five 
hundred  clansmen  to  join  the  standard  of  the  Chev- 
alier de  St  George.  They  marched  to  Perth  ac- 
cordingly. In  the  meantime,  Simon  Fraser  arrived 
in  Scotland,  and  made  his  appearance,  like  one  of 
those  portentous  sea  monsters  whose  gambols  an- 
nounce the  storm.  He  was  first  seen  at  Dumfries, 
where  he  offered  his  personal  services  to  join  the 
citizens,  who  were  in  arms  to  repel  an  attack  from 
Kenmure,  Nithisdale,  and  their  followers.  The 
Dumfriesians,  however,  trusted  him  not,  nay,  were 
disposed  to  detain  him  a  prisoner;  and  only  per- 
mitted him  to  pass  northward,  on  the  assurance  of 
the  Marquis  of  Annandale,  that  his  presence  there 
would  be  favourable  to  King  George  and  his  cause. 
It  proved  so  accordingly. 

Simon  Fraser  arrived  in  Inverness-shire,  and 
hastened  to  form  an  intimate  alliance  with  Duncan 
Forbes,  brother  of  John  Forbes  of  Culloden,  and  a 
determined  friend  to  government.  Forbes  was  an 
excellent  lawyer,  and  a  just  and  religious  man.  At 
another  time,  he  would  probably  have  despised  as- 
sociating himself  with  a  desperate  outlaw  to  his 
country,  black  with  the  charges  of  rape,  murder,  and 
(]oMh:(»    treacherv.     But  the  case  was  an  extreme 


252  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    ERASERS. 

one,  in  which  no  assistance  that  promised  to  be 
available  was  to  be  rejected.  Simon  Fraser  obtain- 
ed pardon  and  favour,  and  the  influence  of  the  pat- 
riarchal system  was  never  more  remarkably  illus- 
trated than  in  his  person.  His  character  was,  as  we 
have  seen,  completely  infamous,  and  his  state  and 
condition  that  of  an  adventurer  of  the  very  worst 
description.  But  by  far  the  greater  number  of  the 
clan  were  disposed  to  think,  that  the  chiefship  de- 
scended to  the  mail  heir,  and  therefore  preferred 
Simon's  title  to  that  of  Fraserdale,  who  only  com- 
manded them  as  husband  of  the  heiress.  The  man- 
dates of  Fraser,  now  terming  himself  Lovat,  reach- 
ed the  clan  in  the  town  of  Perth.  They  were  res- 
pected as  those  of  the  rightful  chief ;  and  the  Fra- 
sers  did  not  hesitate  to  withdraw  from  the  cause  of 
the  Chevalier  de  St  George,  and  march  northwards, 
to  place  themselves  under  the  command  of  their 
restored  patriarch  by  male  descent,  who  had  em- 
braced the  Gther  side.  This  change  of  sides  wa^ 
the  more  remarkable,  as  most  of  the  Frasers  were 
in  personal  opinion  Jacobites.  We  have  already 
noticed  that  the  desertion  of  the  Frasers  took  place 
the  very  morning  when  Mar  broke  up  to  march  on 
Dunblane ;  and,  as  a  bold  and  warlike  clan,  their 
absence,  on  the  12th  November,  was  of  no  small 
disadvantage  to  the  party  from  whom  they  had  re- 
tired. 

Shortly  after  this,  the  operations  of  this  clan, 
under  their  new  leader,  became  directly  hostile  to 
the  Jacobite  cause.  Sir  John  MacKenzie  of  Coul 
had,  at  the  period  of  the  Earl  of  Seaforth's  march 
to  Perth,  been  left  with  four  hundred  MacKenzies^ 


TO    THE    WHIG    INTEREST.  253 

to  garrison  Inverness,  which  may  be  termed  the 
capital  of  the  North  Highlands.  Hitherto  his  task 
had  been  an  easy  one,  but  it  was  now  likely  to  be- 
come more  difficult.  Acting  upon  a  plan  concerted 
betwixt  him  and  Duncan  Forbes,  Lovat  assem- 
bled his  clan,  and  with  those  of  the  Monros,  Rosses 
and  Grants,  who  had  always  maintained  the  Whig 
interest,  attacked  Inverness,  with  such  success, 
that  they  made  themselves  masters  of  the  place, 
which  Sir  John  MacKenzie  found  himself  compel- 
led to  evacuate  without  serious  resistance.  The 
Earl  of  Sutherland  also,  who  was  still  in  arms, 
now  advanced  across  the  Murray  Frith,  and  a  con- 
siderable force  was  collecting  in  the  rear  of  the 
•Rebels,  and  in  a  position  which  threatened  the  ter- 
ritories of  Huntly,  Seaforth,  and  several  other  chief 
leaders  in  Mar's  army. 

These  various  events  tended  more  and  more  to 
depress  the  spirits  of  the  noblemen  and  heads  of 
clans  who  were  in  the  Jacobite  army.  The  indefi- 
nite, or  rather  unfavourable,  issue  of  the  affair  of 
SherifFmuir,  had  discouraged  those  who  expected, 
by  a  decisive  victory,  if  not  to  carry  their  principal 
and  original  purpose,  at  least  to  render  themselves 
a  foe  to  whom  the  government  might  think  it  worth 
w  hile  to  grant  honourable  terms  of  accommodation. 
Most  men  of  reflection,  therefore,  now  foresaw 
the  inevitable  ruin  of  the  undertaking;  but  the 
General,  Mar,  having  formally  invited  the  Cheva- 
lier de  St  George  to  come  over  and  put  himself  at 
the  head  of  the  insurrectionary  army,  was  under  the 
necessity,  for  his  own  honour,  and  to  secure  the 
chance  which  such  an  impulse  might  hav^  given  to 
VOL.  I.  22 


254  mar's  army  dispirited. 

his  affairs,  of  keeping  his  troops  together  to  protect 
the  person  of  the  Prince,  in  case  of  his  accepting  this 
perilous  invitation,  which,  given  before  the  battle 
of  Sheriffmuir,  was  likely  to  be  complied  with.  In 
this  dilemma  he  became  desirous,  by  every  spe- 
cies of  engagement,  to  bind  those  who  had  enroll- 
ed themselves  under  the  fatal  standard,  not  to 
quit  it. 

For  this  purpose,  a  military  oath  was  proposed, 
in  name  of  King  James  VIII.  ;  an  engagement, 
which,  however  solemn,  has  been  seldom  found 
stronger  than  the  severe  compulsion  of  necessity 
operating  against  it.  Many  of  the  gentlemen,  en- 
gaged, not  willing  to  preclude  themselves  from  en- 
deavouring to  procure  terms,  in  case  of  need,  refus- 
ed to  come  under  this  additional  obligation.  The 
expedient  of  an  association  was  next  resorted  to, 
and  Mar  summoned  a  general  council  of  the  prin- 
cipal persons  in  the  army.  This  was  the  fourth 
time  such  a  meeting  had  been  convoked  since  the 
commencement  of  the  affair ;  the  first  had  taken 
place  when  Macintosh's  detachment  was  in  peril ; 
the  second  for  the  purpose  of  subscribing  an  invita- 
tion to  the  Chevalier  de  St  George  to  join  them, 
and  the  third  on  the  field  of  battle  at  Sheriffmuir. 

The  Marquis  of  Huntly,  who  had  already  well- 
nigh  determined  on  taking  separate  measures,  re- 
fused to  attend  the  meeting,  but  sent  a  draught  of 
an  association  to  which  he  was  willing  to  subscribe, 
and  seemed  to  admit  that  the  insurgents  might  make 
their  peace  separately.  Mar  flung  it  scornfully 
aside,  and  said  it  might  be  a  very  proper  form,  pro- 
viding it  had  either  sense  •  or  grammar.     He  then 


COUNCIL    OF    THE    JACOBITE    LEADERS.         256 

recommended  his  own  draught,  by  which  tlie  sub- 
scribers agreed  to  continue  in  arms,  and  accept  no 
conditions  unless  under  the  royal  authority,  and  by 
the  consent  of  the  majority  of  the  gentlemen  then 
in  arms.  The  proposd  measure  was  opposed  by 
the  Master  of  Sinclair  and  many  of  the  Lowland 
gentlemen.  They  complained,  that  by  using  the 
phrase  "Royal  authority,"  they  might  be  consider- 
ed as  throwing  the  free  power  of  deciding  for  them- 
selves into  the  hands  of  Mar,  as  the  royal  Gener- 
al, with  w^hose  management  hitherto  they  had  little 
reason  to  be  satisfied.  The  Master  of  Sinclair  de- 
manded to  know  what  persons  were  to  vote,  as  con- 
stituting the  majority  of  gentlemen  in  arms,  and 
whether  voices  must  be  allowed  to  all  who  went  by 
that  general  name,  or  whether  the  decision  was  to 
be  remitted  to  those  jvhom  the  General  might  select. 
Sir  John  MacLean  haughtily  answered,  that  unless 
some  such  power  of  selection  were  lodged  in  the 
commander-in-chief,  all  his  regiment  of  eight  hun- 
dred men  must  be  admitted  to  vote,  since  every 
MacLean  was  a  gentleman.  Mar  endeavoured  to 
soothe  the  disaffected.  He  admitted  the  king's  af- 
fairs were  not  in  such  a  state  as  he  could  have  de- 
sired ;  but  contended  that  they  were  far  from  des- 
perate, intimated  that  he  still  entertained  hopes, 
and  in  the  same  breath  deprecated  answering  the 
questions  put  to  him  on  the  nature  of  his  expecta- 
tions. He  was,  however,  borne  down  with  queries  ; 
and  being  reminded  that  he  could  not  propose  re- 
maining at  Perth,  when  the  Duke  of  Argyle,  reinfor- 
ced by  six  thousand  Dutch,  should  move  against 
him  on  one  side,  and  Sutherland,  with  all  the  north- 


256       COUNCIL    OF    THE    JACOBITE    LEADERS. 

em  clans  in  the  government  interest,  should  ad- 
vance on  the  other,  it  was  demanded,  where  he  pro- 
posed to  make  a  stand.  Inverness  was  named  ;  and 
the  shire  of  Murray  was  pointed  out  as  sufficient  to 
find  subsistence  for  a  considerable  army.  But  Inver- 
ness, if  not  already  fallen,  was  in  imminent  danger ; 
Murray,  though  a  fertile  country,  was  a  narrow  dis- 
trict, which  would  be  soon  exhausted ;  and  it  seem- 
ed to  be  the  general  opinion,  that  if  pressed  by  the 
Government  forces,  there  would  be  no  resource 
save  falling  back  into  the  barren  regions  of  the 
Highlands.  The  Master  of  Sinclair  asked,  at  what 
season  of  the  year  forage  and  other  necessaries 
for  cavalry  were  to  be  found  in  the  hills  r  Glengar- 
ry made  a  bizarre  but  very  intelligible  reply,  "  that 
such  accommodations  were  to  be  found  in  the  High- 
lands at  every  season — by  those  who  were  provident 
enough  to  bring  them  with  them." 

The  main  argument  of  Mar  was,  to  press  upon 
the  dissentients  the  dishonour  of  deserting  the  King, 
when  he  was  on  the  point  of  throwing  himself  on 
their  loyalty.  They  replied,  he  alone  knew  the 
King's  motions  ;  of  which  they  had  no  such  assur- 
ances as  could  induce  them  to  refu^  any  opportu- 
nity of  saving  themselves,  their  families,  and  estates 
from  perdition,  merely  to  preserve  some  punctilious 
scruples  of  loyalty,  by  which  the  King  could  gain  no 
real  advantage.  They  complained  that  they  had 
been  lured  into  the  field,  by  promises  of  troops,  arms, 
ammunition,  treasure,  and  a  general  of  military  tal- 
ent— all  to  be  sent  by  France ;  and  that,  these  re- 
ports proving  totally  false,  they  did  not  incline  to  be 
detained  there  upon  rumours  of  the  King's  motions, 


DIVISIONS    OF    THE    JACOBITE    ARMY.       257 

which  might  be  equally  fallacious,  as  they  came 
from  the  same  quarter.  In  a  word,  the  council  of 
war  broke  up  without  coming  to  a  resolution ;  and 
there  was,  from  that  time,  established  in  the  army  a 
party  who  were  opposed  to  Mar's  conduct  of  affairs, 
who  declared  for  opening  a  negotiation '  with  the 
Duke  of  Argyle,  and  were  distinguished  at  head- 
quarters as  grumblers  and  mutineers. 

These  gentlemen  held  a  meeting  at  the  Master  of 
Sinclair's  quarters,  and  opened  a  communication 
with  Mar,  in  which  they  urged  the  total  inadequa- 
cy of  any  resistance  which  they  could  now  offer — 
the  exhaustion  of  their  supplies  of  ammunition,  pro- 
vision, and  money — the  impossibility  of  their  mak- 
ing a  stand  until  they  reached  the  Highland  moun- 
tains— and  the  equal  impossibility  of  subsisting  their 
cavalry  if  they  plunged  into  these  wildernesses. 
They  declared,  that  they  did  not  desire  to  separate 
themselves  from  the  army  ;  all  they  wished  to  know 
was,  whether  an  honourable  capitulation  could  be 
obtained  for  all  who  were  engaged  ;  and  if  dishon- 
ourable terms  were  offered,  they  expressed  them- 
selves determined  to  fight  to  the  death  rather  than 
accept  them. 

While  such  were  the  sentiments  of  the  Low-coun- 
try gentlemen,  dejected  at  their  total  want  of  suc- 
cess, and  the  prospect  of  misery  and  ruin  which 
they  saw  fast  approaching,  the  Highland  chiefs  and 
clans  were  totally  disinclined  to  any  terms  of  ac- 
commodation. Their  warlike  disposition  made 
the  campaign  an  enjoyment  to  them;  the  pay,  which 
Mar  dispensed  liberally,  was,  while  it  lasted,  an 
object  with  people  so  poor  ;  and,  finally,  they  enter- 
22* 


258         DIVISIONS  i:v  the  JAcoBiTt:  AKMr. 


tained  the  general  opinion,  founded  upon  the  con- 
vention made  with  their  ancestors  after  the  war  of 
1688-9,  that  they  might  at  worst  retreat  into  their 
hills,  where,  rather  than  incur  the  loss  of  men  and 
charges  necessary  for  suppressing  them,  the  Gov- 
ernment would  be  glad  to  grant  them  peace  upon 
their  own  terms,  and,  perhaps,  not  averse  to  pay 
them  for  accepting  it.  Another  class  of  men  hav- 
ing influence  in  such  a  singular  camp,  were  the  no- 
bility, or  men  of  quality,  who  had  joined  the  cause. 
Most  of  these  were  men  of  high  titles  but  broken 
fortunes,  whose  patrimony  was  arerburdened  with 
debt.  They  had  been  early  treated  by  Mar  with 
distinction  and  preference,  for  their  rank  gave  cred- 
it to  the  cause  which  their  personal  influence  could 
not  greatly  have  advanced.  Tbey  enjoyed  posts  of 
nominal  rank  in  the  insurrectionary  army ;  and  the 
pay  conforming  to  these  was  not  less  acceptable  to 
them  than  to  the  Highlanders,  It  may  be  also  sup- 
posed, that  they  were  more  particularly  acquainted 
than  others  with  the  reasons  Mar  had  for  actually 
expecting  the  King ;  and  might,  with  spirit  wor- 
thy of  their  birth,  be  willing  to  incur  the  worst  ex- 
tremities of  war,  rather  than  desert  the  monarch  at 
the  moment,  when,  by  their  own  invitation,  he  came 
to  throw  himself  on  their  fidelity.  These  noblemen, 
therefore,  supported  the  measures  and  authority  of 
the  commander,  and  discountenanced  any  proposals 
to  treat. 

Notwithstanding  the  aid  of  the  nobles  and  the 
Highland  chiefs.  Mar  found  himself  compelled  so 
far  to  listen  to  the  representations  of  the  discontent- 
ed party,  as  to  consent  that  application  should  be 


TERMS  OF  SUBMISSION  MADE  TO  ARGYLE.      259 

made  to" the  Duke  of  x\rgyle  to  learn  whether  any 
capitulation  could  be  allowed.  There  was  so  lit- 
tle faith  betwixt  the  officers  and  their  general,  that 
the  former  insisted  on  naming  one  of  the  delegates 
who  were  to  be  sent  to  Stirling  about  the  proposed 
negotiation.  The  offer  of  submission  upon  terms 
was  finally  intrusted  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  Law- 
rence, the  officer  of  highest  rank  who  had  been 
made  prisoner  at  Sheriffmuir.  The  colonel,  agree- 
ably to  a  previous  engagement,  returned  with  an 
answer  to  the  proposal  of  submission,  that  the  Duke 
of  Argyle  had  no  commission  from  court  to  treat 
with  the  insurgents  as  a  body,  but  only  with  such 
individuals  as  might  submit  themselves ;  but  his 
Grace  promised  that  he  would  send  the  Duke  of 
Roxburghe  to  court,  for  the  purpose  of  soliciting 
such  powers  for  a  general  pacification.  A  more 
private  negotiation,  instituted  by  the  Countess  of 
Murray,  whose  second  son,  Francis  Stewart,  was 
engaged  in  the  rebellion,  received  the  same  answer, 
with  this  addition,  that  the  Duke  of  Argyle  would 
not  hear  her  pronounce  the  name  of  Mar,  in  whose 
favour  she  had  attempted  to  make  some  interces- 
sion. 

Upon  this  unfavourable  reception  of  the  proposal 
of  submission,  it  was  not  difficult  to  excite  the  re- 
sentment of  those  who  had  declared  for  war,  against 
that  smaller  party  which  advocated  peace.  The 
Highlanders,  whose  fierce  temper  was  easily  awak- 
ened to  fury,  were  encouraged  to  insult  and  misuse 
several  of  the  Low  country  gentry,  particularly  the 
followers  of  Huntly,  tearing  the  cockades  out  of 
their   hats,   and   upbraiding   them  as  cowards  and 


260  DESERTION    FROM    IMAR's    ARMY. 

traitors.  The  Master  of  Sinclair  was  publicly 
threatened  by  Farquharson  of  Inverary,  a  Highland 
vassal  of  the  Earl  of  Mar;  but  his  well-known  fe- 
rocity of  temper,  with  his  habit  of  going  continual- 
ly armed,  seem  to  have  protected  him. 

About  this  time,  there  were  others  among  Mar's 
principal  associates  who  became  desirous  of  leav- 
ing his  camp  at  Perth.  Huntly,  much  disgusted 
with  the  insults  offered  to  his  vassals,  and  the  des- 
perate state  of  things  at  Perth,  was  now  preparing 
to  withdraw  to  his  own  country,  alleging  that  his 
presence  was  necessary  to  defend  it  against  the 
Earl  of  Sutherland,  whose  march  southward  must 
be  destructive  to  the  estates  of  his  family.  The 
movements  of  the  same  Earl  with  the  clans  of  Ros- 
ses, MacKays,  Erasers,  Grants,  and  others,  alarm- 
ed Seaforth  also  for  the  security  of  his  dominions 
in  Kintail ;  and  he  left  Perth,  to  march  northward, 
for  the  defence  of  his  property,  and  the  wives,  fam- 
ilies, and  houses  of  his  vassals  in  arms.  Thus 
were  two  great  limbs  lopped  oft'  from  Mar's  army, 
at  the  time  when  it  was  about  to  be  assailed  by  gov- 
ernment with  collected  strength.  Individuals  also 
became  dispirited,  and  deserted  the  enterprise. 
There  was  at  least  one  man  of  consideration  who 
went  home  from  the  field  of  battle  at  SherifFmuir — 
sat  down  by  his  own  hearth,  and  trusting  to  the 
clemency  of  the  government,  renounced  the  trade 
of  king-making.  Others,  in  parties  or  separately, 
had  already  adopted  the  same  course ;  and  those 
who,  better  known,  or  more  active,  dared  not  re- 
main at  home^  were  seeking  passages  to  foreign 
parts  from  the  eastern    ports  of  Scotland.      The 


ARRIVAL   OF    THE    CHEVALIER.  261 


Master  of  Sinclair,  after  exchanging  mutual  threats 
and  defiances  with  Mar  and  his  friends,  left  the 
camp  at  Perth,  went  north  and  visited  the  Marquis 
of  Huntly.  He  afterwards  escaped  abroad  from  the 
Orkney  islands. 

Amidst  this  gradual  but  increasing  defection, 
Mar,  by  the  course  of  his  policy,  saw  himself  at  all 
rates  obliged  to  keep  his  ground  at  Perth,  since  he 
knew,  what  others  refused  to  take  upon  his  author- 
ity, that  the  Chevalier  de  St  George  was  very 
shortly  to  be  expected  in  his  camp. 

This  Prince,  unfortunate  from  his  very  infancy, 
found  himself,  at  the  time  of  this  struggle  in  his  be- 
half, altogether  unable  to  assist  his  partisans.  He 
had  been  expelled  from  France  by  the  Regent 
Duke  of  Orleans,  and  even  the  provision  of  arms 
and  ammunition,  which  he  was  able  to  collect  from 
his  own  slender  funds,  and  those  of  his  followers, 
or  by  the  munificence  of  his  allies,  was  intercepted 
in  the  ports  of  France.  Having,  therefore,  no 
more  effectual  mode  of  rendering  them  assistance, 
he  generously,  or  desperately,  resolved  to  put  his 
own  person  in  the  hazard,  and  live  and  die  along 
with  them.  As  a  soldier,  the  Chevalier  de  St 
George  had  shown  courage  upon  several  other  oc- 
casions ;  that  is,  he  had  approached  the  verge  of 
battle  as  near  as  persons  of  his  importance  are  usu- 
ally suffered  to  do.  He  was  handsome  in  person, 
and  courteous  and  pleasing  in  his  manners;  but 
his  talents  were  not  otherwise  conspicuous,  nor  did 
he  differ  from  the  ordinary  class  of  great  persons, 
whose  wishes,  hopes,  and  feelings,  are  uniformly 
under  the  influence   and  management  of  some  fa- 


262  ARRIVAL    OF    THE    CHEVALIER. 

vourite  minister,  who  relieves  his  master  of  the  in- 
convenient trouble  of  thinking  for  himself  upon  sub- 
jects of  importance.  The  arrival  of  a  chief,  grac- 
ed with  such  showy  qualities  as  James  possessed, 
might  have  given  general  enthusiasm  to  the  insur- 
rection at  its  commencement,  but  could  not  redeem 
it  when  it  was  gone  to  ruin  ;  any  more  than  the 
unexpected  presence  of  the  captain  on  board  a  half- 
wrecked  vessel  can,  of  itself,  restore  the  torn  rig- 
ging which  cannot  resist  the  storm,  or  mend  the 
shattered  planks  which  are  yawning  to  admit  the 
waves. 

The  Chevalier  thus  performed  his  romantic  ad- 
venture : — Having  traversed  Normandy  disguised 
in  a  mariner's  habit,  he  embarked  at  Dunkirk  aboard 
a  small  vessel,  formerly  a  privateer,  as  well  armed 
and  manned  as  time  would  admit,  and  laden  with  a 
cargo  of  brandy.  On  the  22d  December,  1715, 
he  landed  at  Peterhead,  having  with  him  a  retinue 
of  only  six  gentlemen  ;  the  rest  of  his  train  and 
equipage  being  to  follow  him  in  two  other  small 
vessels.  Of  these,  one  reached  Scotland,  but  the 
other  was  shipwrecked.  The  Earl  of  Mar,  with 
the  Earl  Marischal,  and  a  chosen  train  of  persons 
of  quality,  to  the  number  of  thirty,  went  from  Perth 
to  kiss  the  hands  of  the  Prince  for  whose  cause  they 
were  in  arms.  They  found  him  at  Fetteresso,  dis- 
composed with  the  ague, — a  bad  disorder  to  bring 
to  a  field  of  battle.  The  deputation  was  received 
with  the  courtesy  and  marks  of  favour  which  could 
not  be  refused,  although  their  news  scarce  deserved  a 
welcome.  While  the  episcopal  clergy  of  the  diocese 
of  Aberdeen  congratulated  themselves  and  James 


ARRIVAL    OF    THE    CHEVALIER.  263 


on  the  arrival  of  a  Prince,  trained  like  Moses,  Jo- 
seph, and  David,  in  the  school  of  adversity,  his 
General  had  to  apprize  his  Sovereign  of  the  cold 
tidings,  that  his  education  in  that  severe  academy- 
had  not  yet  ended.  The  Chevalier  de  St  George 
now  for  the  first  time  received  the  melancholy  in- 
telligence, that  for  a  month  before  his  arrival  it  had 
been  determined  to  abandon  Perth,  which  had 
hitherto  been  their  head-quarters,  and  thus,  as  soon 
as  the  enemy  began  to  advance,  they  would  be 
under  the  necessity  of  retreating  in  the  wild  High- 
lands. 

This  was  a  reception  very  different  from  what 
the  Prince  anticipated.  Some  hopes  were  still  en- 
tertained, that  the  news  of  the  Chevalier's  actual 
arrival  might  put  new  life  into  their  sinking  cause, 
bring  back  the  friends  who  had  left  their  standard, 
and  encourage  new  ones  to  repair  thither,  and  the 
experiment  was  judged  worth  trying.  For  giving 
the  greater  effect  to  his  presence,  he  appeared  in 
royal  state  as  he  passed  through  Berchin  and  Dun- 
dee, and  entered  Perth  itself  with  an  affectation  of 
JMajesty. 

James  proceeded  to  name  a  Privy  Council,  to 
whom  he  made  a  speech,  which  had  little  in  it  that 
was  encouraging  to  his  followers.  In  spite  of  a 
forced  air  of  hope  and  confidence,  it  was  too  ob- 
yious  that  the  language  of  the  Prince  was-  rather 
that  of  despair.  There  was  no  rational  expectation 
of  assistance  in  men,  money,  or  arms,  from  abroad, 
nor  did  his  speech  hold  out  any  such.  He  was 
come  to  Scotland,  he  said,  merely  that  those  who 
did  not  choose  to  discharge  their  own  duty,  might 


i>(J4  ARRIVAL    OF    THE    CHEVALIER. 


not  have  it  in  their  power  to  make  his  absence  an 
apology ;  and  the  ominous  words  escaped  him, 
''  that  for  him  it  was  no  new  thing  to  be  unfortunate, 
since  his  whole  life,  from  his  cradle,  had  been  a 
constant  series  of  misfortune,  and  he  was  prepar- 
ed, if  it  so  pleased  God,  to  suffer  the  extent  of  the 
threats  which  his  enemies  threw  out  against  him." 
These  were  not  encouraging  words,  but  they  were 
the  real  sentiments  of  a  spirit  broken  with  dis- 
appointment. The  Grand  Council,  to  whom  this 
royal  speech  was  addressed,  answered  it  by  a  de- 
claration of  their  purpose  of  fighting  the  Duke  of 
Argyle  ;  and  it  is  incredible  how  popular  this  de- 
termination was  in  the  army,  though  reduced  to 
one-fourth  of  their  original  numbers.  The  intelli- 
gence of  the  arrival  of  the  Chevalier  de  St  George 
^vas  communicated  to  Seaforth,  Lord  Huntly,  and 
other  persons  of  consequence  who  had  formerly 
Joined  his  standard,  but  they  took  no  notice  of  his 
.summons  to  return  thither.  He  continued,  not- 
withstanding, to  act  the  Sovereign.  Six  procla- 
mations were  issued  in  the  name  of  James  the 
Eighth  of  Scotland  and  Third  of  England  :  The  first 
appointed  a  general  thanksgiving  for  his  sate  arri- 
val in  the  British  kingdoms — a  second,  command- 
ed prayers  to  be  offered  up  for  him  in  all  churches 
— a  third,  enjoined  the  currency  of  foreign  coins — 
a  fourth,  directed  the  summoning  together  the  Scot- 
tish Convention  of  Estates — a  fifth,  commanded 
all  the  fencible  men  to  join  his  standard — and  a 
sixth,  appointed  the  23d  of  January  for  the  cere- 
mony of  his  coronation.  A  letter  from  the  Earl  of 
Mar  was  also  published  respecting  the  King,  as 


^'^-'.>. 


BURNING    OF    AUCHTERARDER.  265 

he  is  called,  in  which,  with  no  happy  selection  of 
phrase,  he  is  termed  the  finest  gentleman  in  per- 
son and  manners,  with  ih.e^  finest  parts  and  capaci- 
ty for  business,  and  fivest  writer  whom  Lord  Mar 
ever  saw ;  in  a  word,  every  way  fitted  to  make 
the  Scots  a  happy  people,  were  his  subjects  worthy 
of  him. 

But  with  these  flattering  annunciations  came 
forth  one  of  a  different  character.  The  village  of 
Auchterarder,  and  other  hamlets  lying  between 
Stirling  and  Perth,  with  the  houses,  corn,  and  for- 
age, were  ordered  by  James's  edict  to  be  destroy- 
ed, lest  they  should  afford  quarters  to  the  enemy  in 
their  advance.  In  consequence  of  this,  the  town 
above  named  and  several  villages  were  burned  to 
the  ground,  while  their  inhabitants,  with  old  men 
and  women,  children  and  infirm  persons,  were 
driven  from  their  houses  in  the  extremity  of  one  of 
the  hardest  winters  which  had  for  a  long  time  been 
experienced  even  in  these  cold  regions.  There  is 
every  reason  to  believe,  that  the  alarm  attending 
this  violent  measure  greatly  overbalanced  any  hopes 
of  better  times,  excited  by  the  flourishing  proclama- 
tions of  the  newly-arrived  candidate  for  royalty. 

While  the  insurgents  of  Perth  were  trying  the 
effect  of  adulatory  proclamations,  active  measures 
of  a  very  different  kind  were  in  progress.  The 
Duke  of  Argyle  had  been  in  Stirling  since  the  battle 
of  12th  November,  collecting  gradually  the  means 
of  totally  extinguishing  the  rebellion.  His  secret 
wish  probably  was,  that  it  might  be  ended  without 
farther  bloodshed  of  his  misguided  countrymen,  by 
dissolving  of  itself.     But  the  want  of  a  battering 

VOL.  I.  23 


26Q       EXERTIONS    TO    END    Tlii:    REDELLION. 


train,  and  the  extreme  severity  of  the  v/eather,  seiTed 
as  excuses  for  refraining  from  active  operations. 
The  Duke,  however,  seems  to  have  been  suspect- 
ed by  government  of  being  tardy  in  his  operations ; 
and  perhaps  of  having  entertained  some  idea  of  ex- 
tending his  own  power  and  interest  in  Scotland,  by 
treating  the  rebels  with  clemency,  and  allowing 
them  time  for  submission.  This'was  the  rather  be- 
lieved, as  Argyle  had  been  the  ardent  opponent  of 
Marlborough,  now  Captain-General,  and  could  not 
hope  that  his  measures  would  be  favourably  judg- 
ed by  a  political  and  personal  enemy.  The  inter- 
cession of  a  part  of  the  English  ministry,  who  de- 
clared against  the  impeachment  of  the  rebel  lords, 
had  been  punished  with  the  loss  of  their  places  ; 
and,  notwithstanding  the  services  he  had  performed 
in  arresting  with  three  thousand  men  the  progress 
of  four  times  that  number,  Argyle's  slow  and  tem- 
porising measures  subjected  him  to  a  shade  of  ma- 
levolent suspicion,  which  his  message  to  govern- 
ment, through  the  Duke  of  Roxburghe,  recom- 
mending an  amnesty,  perhaps  tended  to  increase. 

Yet  he  had  not  neglected  any  opportunity  to  nar- 
row the  occupation  of  the  country  by  the  rebels,  or 
to  prepare  for  their  final  suppression.  The  En- 
glish ships  of  war  in  the  Frith,  acting  under  the 
Duke's  orders,  had  driven  Mar's  forces  from  the 
castle  of  Burntisland,  and  the  royal  troops  had  es- 
tablished themselves  throughout  a  great  part  of 
Fife-shirc,  formerly  held  exclusively  by  the  rebel 
army. 

The  Dutch  auxiliaries  now,  however,  began  to 
join  the  camp  at   Stirling;  and  as  the  artillery  de- 


ARGYLE    MARCHES    FROM    STIRLING.        267 

signed  for  the  siege  of  Perth  lay  wind-bound  in  the 
Thames,  a  field-train  was  sent  from  Berwick  to 
Stirling,  that  no  farther  time  might  be  lost.  Gen- 
eral Cadogan  also,  the  intimate  friend  of  Marlbo- 
rough, was  dispatched  from  London  to  press  the 
most  active  operations  ;  and  Argyle,  if  he  had  hith- 
erto used  any  delay,  in  pity  to  the  insurgents,  was 
now  forced  on  the  most  energetic  measures. 

On  the  24th  of  January,  the  advance  from  Stirl- 
ing and  the  march  on  Perth  were  commenced, 
though  the  late  hard  frost,  followed  by  a  great  fall 
of  snow,  rendered  the  operations  of  the  army  slow 
and  difficult.  On  the  last  day  of  January  the  troops 
of  Argyle  crossed  the  Eame  without  opposition, 
and  advanced  to  Tullibardine,  within  eight  miles 
of  Perth. 

On  the  other  hand,  all  was  confusion  at  the  head- 
quarters of  the  rebels.  The  Chevalier  de  St 
George  had  expressed  the  greatest  desire  to  see 
little  kings,  as  he  called  the  Highland  chiefs  and 
their  clans  ;  but,  though  professing  to  admire  their 
singular  dress  and  martial  appearance,  he  was  as- 
tonished to  perceive  their  number  so  greatly  inferi- 
or to  what  he  had  been  led  to  expect,  and  express- 
ed an  apprehension  that  he  had  been  deceived  and 
betrayed.  Nor  did  the  appearance  of  this  Prince 
excite  much  enthusiasm  on  the  part  of  his  follow- 
ers. His  person  was  tall  and  thin  ;  his  look  and 
eye  dejected  by  his  late  bodily  illness;  and  his 
whole  bearing  lacking  the  animation  and  fire  which 
ought  to  characterise  the  leader  of  an  adventurous, 
or  rather  desperate  cause.  He  was  slow  of  speech 
and  difficult  of  oc^c^:?,  ?r.d  seemed  little  interested 


238       ANIMATION    OF    THE    HIGHLANDERS. 


in  reviews  of  his  men,  or  martial  displays  of  any 
kind.  The  Highlanders,  struck  with  his  resem- 
blance to  an  automaton,  asked  if  he  could  speak ; 
and  there  was  a  general  disappointment,  arising 
rather,  perhaps,  from  the  state  of  anxiety  and  de- 
pression in  which  they  saw  him,  than  from  any  nat- 
ural want  of  courage  in  the  unhappy  Prince  him- 
self. His  extreme  attachment  to  the  Catholic  re- 
ligion, also  reminded  such  of  his  adherents  as  ac- 
knowledged the  reformed  church,  of  the  family  big- 
otry on  account  of  which  his  father  had  lost  his 
kingdom ;  and  they  were  much  disappointed  at  his 
refusal  to  join  in  their  prayers  and  acts  of  worship, 
and  at  the  formal  precision  with  which  he  adhered 
to  his  Popish  devotions. 

Yet  the  Highlanders,  though  few  in  numbers, 
still  looked  forward  with  the  utmost  spirit,  and 
something  approaching  to  delight,  to  the  desperate 
conflict  which  they  conceived  to  be  just  approach" 
ing  ;  and  when,  on  the  28th  January,  they  learned 
that  Argyle  was  actually  on  his  march  towards 
Perth,  it  seemed  rather  to  announce  a  jubilee  than 
a  battle  with  fearful  odds.  The  chiefs  embraced, 
drank  to  each  other,  and  to  the  good  day  which 
was  drawing  near;  the  pipes  played,  and  the  men 
prepared  for  action  with  that  air  of  alacrity  which 
a  warlike  people  express  at  the  approach  of  battle. 

When,  however,  a  rumour,  first  slowly  whisper- 
ed, then  rapidly  spreading  among  the  clans,  inform- 
ed them,  that  notwithstanding  all  the  preparations 
in  which  they  had  been  engaged,  it  was  the  Gene- 
ral's purpose  to  retire  before  the  enemy  without 
fighting,  the  grief  and  indignation  of  these  men, 


PROPOSAL    OF    RETREAT.  269 


taught  to  think  so  highly  of  their  ancestors'  prow- 
ess, and  feeling  no  inferiority  in  themselves,  rose 
to  a  formidable  pitch  of  fury,  and  they  assailed  their 
principal  officers  in  the  streets  with  every  species 
of  reproach.  "What  can  we  do  ?"  was  the  help- 
less answer  of  one  of  these  gentlemen,  a  confidant 
of  Mar.  "Do?"  answered  an  indignant  High- 
lander ;  "  Let  us  do  that  which  we  were  called  to 
arms  for,  which  certainly  was  not  to  run  away. 
Why  did  the  King  come  hither  ? — was  it  to  see  his 
subjects  butchered  like  dogs,  without  striking  a 
blow  for  their  lives  and  honour  ? — "  When  the 
safety  of  the  king's  person  was  urged  as  a  reason 
for  retreat,  they  answered — "  Trust  his  safety  to 
us  ;  and  if  he  is  willing  to  die  like  a  prince,  he 
shall  see  there  are  ten  thousand  men  in  Scotland 
willing  to  die  with  him." 

Such  were  the  general  exclamations  without 
doors,  and  those  in  the  councils  of  the  Chevalier 
were  equally  violent.  Many  military  men  of  skill 
gave  it  as  their  opinion,  that  though  Perth  was  an 
open  town,  yet  it  was  so  far  a  safe  post,  that  an  ar- 
my could  not,  by  a  coup-de-nmin^  take  it  out  of  the 
hands  of  a  garrison  determined  on  its  defence.  The 
severity  of  the  snow-storm,  and  of  the  frost,  pre- 
cluded the  opening  of  breaches  ;  the  country  around 
Perth  was  laid  desolate ;  the  Duke  of  Argyle's  ar- 
my consisted  in  a  great  measure  of  Englishmen  and 
foreigners,  unaccustomed  to  the  severe  climate  of 
Scotland ;  and  vague  hopes  were  expressed,  that, 
if  the  General  of  Government  should  press  an  at- 
tack upon  the  town,  he  might  receive  such  a  check 
as  would  restore  the  balance  between  the  parties, 
23* 


270      THE  JACOBITES  RESOLVE  TO  RETREAT. 


To  this  it  was  replied,  that  not  only  the  superior- 
ity of  numbers,  and  the  advantage  of  discipline,^ 
were  on  the  side  of  the  royal  army,  but  that  the 
garrison  at  Perth  was  destitute  of  the  necessary 
provisions  and  ammunition  ;  and  that  the  Duke'of 
x\.rgyle  had  men  enough  at  once  to  form  the  block- 
ade of  that  town,  and  take  possession  of  Dundee, 
Aberdeen,  and  all  the  countries  to  the  northward  of 
the  Tay,  which  they  lately  occupied ;  while  the 
Chevalier,  cooped  up  in  Perth,  might  be  permitted 
for  some  time  to  see  all  the  surrounding  country  in 
his  enemy's  possession,  until  it  would  finally  be- 
come impossible  for  him  to  escape.  In  the  end  it 
was  resolved  in  the  councils  of  the  Chevalier  de  St 
George,  that  to  attempt  the  defence  of  Perth  would 
be  an  act  of  desperate  chivalry.  To  reconcile  the 
body  of  the  army  to  the  retreat,  reports  were  spread 
that  they  were  to  make  a  halt  at  Aberdeen,  there 
to  be  joined  by  a  considerable  body  of  troops 
which  were  expected  to  arrive  from  abroad,  and  ad- 
\  ance  again  southwards  under  better  auspices.  But 
it  was  secretly  understood  that  the  purpose  was  to 
desert  the  enterprise,  to  which  the  contrivers  might 
apply  the  lines  of  the  poet — 

"  In  an  ill  hour  did  we  these  arms  commence. 
Fondly  brought  here,  and  foolishly  sent  hence." 


L  271   J 


CHAP.  XIII. 


Retreat  of  the  Jacobite  Army  from  Perth — Escape  of  the  Cheva- 
lier and  the  Earl  of  Mar  on  board  a  Vessel  at  Montrose^ — Disper- 
sion of  the  Jacobite  Army — Incapacity  of  Mar  as  a  General— Ar- 
gyle's  Arrival  in  London,  and  reception  at  Court— he  is  deprived 
of  all  Employments — Causes  of  this  Act  of  Ingratitude  on  the  part 
of  the  English  Government— Trial  of  the  Jacobite  Prisoners,  at 
Carlisle— Disarming  of  the  Highlanders — Sale  of  Forfeited  Es- 
tates— Plan  of  Charles  XII.  of  Sweden  for  Restoring  the  Stew- 
arts— Expedition  fitted  out  by  Cardinal  Alberoni  for  the  same 
purpose — Battle  of  Glenshiel— the  Enterprise  Abandoned 

Whatever  reports  were  spread  among  the  sol- 
diers, the  principal  leaders  had  determined  to  com- 
mence a  retreat,  at  the  head  of  a  discontented  army, 
degraded  in  their  own  opinion,  distrustful  of  their 
officers,  and  capable,  should  these  suspicions  ripen 
into  a  fit  of  fury,  of  carrying  off  both  King  and  Gen- 
eral into  the  Highlands,  and  there  waging  an  irreg- 
ular war  after  their  own  manner. 

On  the  28th  of  January,  an  alarm  was  given  in 
Perth  of  the  Duke  of  Argyle's  approach  ;  and  it  is 
remarkable,  that,  although  in  the  confusion,  the  gen- 
eral officers  had  issued  no  orders  what  measures 
were  to  be  taken  in  case  of  this  probable  event,  yet 
the  clans  themselves,  with  intuitive  sagacity,  took 
the  strongest  posts  for  checking  any  attack  ;  and, 
notwithstanding  a  momentary  disorder,  were  heard 
to  cheer  each  other  with  the  expression,    "  they 


272   RETREAT  OF  THE  ARMY  FROM  PERTH. 

should  do  well  enough."  The  unhappy  Prince  him- 
self was  far  from  displaying  the  spirit  of  his  parti- 
sans. He  was  observed  to  look  dejected,  and  to 
shed  tears,  and  heard  to  say,  that  instead  of  bring- 
ing him  to  a  crown,  they  had  led  him  to  his  grave. 
"Weeping,"  said  Prince  Eugene,  when  he  heard 
this  incident,  "is  not  the  way  to  conquer  king- 
doms." 

The  retreat  commenced  under  all  these  various 
feelings.  On  the  30th  of  January,  the  anniversary 
of  Charles  the  First's  decapitation,  and  ominous 
therefore  to  his  grandson,  the  Highland  army  filed 
off  upon  the  ice,  which  then  covered  the  Tay, 
though  a  rapid  and  deep  stream.  The  town  was 
shortly  afterwards  taken  possession  of  by  a  body  of 
the  Duke  of  Argyle's  dragoons  ;  but  the  weather 
was  so  severe,  and  the  march  of  the  rebels  so  regu- 
lar, that  it  was  impossible  to  push  forward  any  van- 
guard of  strength  sufficient  to  annoy  their  retreat. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  rebels  at  the  seaport  of 
Montrose,  a  rumour  arose  among  the  Highlanders, 
that  the  King,  as  he  was  termed,  the  Earl  of  Mar, 
and  some  of  their  other  principal  leaders,  were 
about  to  abandon  them,  and  take  their  flight  by  sea. 
To  pacify  the  troops,  orders  were  given  to  continue 
the  rout  towards  Aberdeen ;  the  equipage  and 
horses  of  the  Chevalier  de  St  George  were  brought 
out  before  the  gate  of  his  lodgings,  and  his  guards 
were  mounted  as  if  to  proceed  on  the  journey.  But 
before  the  hour  appointed  for  the  march,  James 
left  his  apartment  privately  for  those  of  the  Earl  of 
Mar,  and  both  took  a  by-road  to  the  water's  edge, 
where  a  boat  waited  to  carry  them  in  safety  on 
board  a  small   vessel   prepared  for  their  reception. 


ESCAPE    OF  THE  CHHVALIER.  273 

The  safety  of  these  two  personages  being  assured, 
boats  were  sent  to  bring  off  Lord  Drummond,  and 
a  few  other  gentlemen,  most  of  them  belonging  to 
the  Chevalier's  household;  and  thus  the  son  of 
James  II.  once  more  retreated  from  the  shores  of 
his  native  country,  which,  on  this  last  occasion,  he 
seemed  to  have  visited  for  no  other  purpose  than 
to  bring  away  his  General  in  safety. 

General  Gordon  performed  the  melancholy  and 
irksome  duty  of  leading  to  Aberdeen  the  disheart- 
ened remains  of  the  Highland  army,  in  which  the 
Lord  Marischal  lent  him  assistance,  and  brought 
up  the  rear.  It  is  probable  that  the  rage  of  the 
men,  on  finding  themselves  deserted,  might  have 
shown  itself  in  some  acts  of  violence  and  insubor- 
dination ;  but  the  approach  of  the  Duke  of  Argyle's 
forces,  which  menaced  them  in  different  columns, 
prevented  this  catastrophe.  A  sealed  letter,  to  be 
opened  at  Aberdeen,  contained  the  secret  orders  of 
the  Chevalier  for  General  Gordon  and  his  army. 
When  opened,  it  was  found  to  contain  thanks  for 
their  faithful  services ;  an  intimation,  that  disap- 
pointments had  obliged  him  to  retire  abroad ;  and 
a  full  permission  to  his  adherents  either  to  remain 
in  a  body  and  treat  with  the  enemy,  or  disperse,  as 
should  best  appear  to  suit  the  exigency  of  the  time. 
The  soldiers  were  at  the  same  time  apprised  that 
they  would  cease  to  receive  pay. 

A  general  burst  of  grief  and  indignation  attend- 
ed these  communications.  Many  of  the  insurgents 
threw  down  their  arms  in  despair,  exclaiming,  that 
they  had  been  deserted  and  betrayed,  and  were  now 
left   without  either  king  or  general.     The   clans 


274  ir>CAi»ACITY    OF    MAR. 

broke  up  into  different  bodies,  and  marched  to  the 
mountains,  where  they  dispersed,  each  to  its  own 
hereditary  glen.  The  gentlemen  and  Lowlanders 
who  had  been  engaged,  either  skulked  among  the 
mountains,  or  gained  the  more  northerly  shires  of 
the  country,  where  vessels  sent  from  France  to  re- 
ceive them,  carried  a  great  part  of  them  to  the  con- 
tinent. 

Thus  ended  the  rebellion  of  1715,  mthout  even 
the  usual  sad  eclat  of  a  defeat.  It  proved  fatal  to 
many  ancient  and  illustrious  families  in  Scotland, 
and  appears  to  have  been  an  undertaking  too  weigh- 
ty for  the  talents  of  the  person  whom  chance,  or  his 
own  presumption,  placed  at  the  head  of  it.  It  would 
be  unjust  to  the  memory  of  the  unfortunate  Mar,  not 
to  acquit  him  of  cowardice  or  treachery,  but  his 
genius  lay  for  the  intrigues  of  a  court,  not  the  la- 
bours of  a  campaign.  He  seems  to  have  fully 
shared  the  chimerical  hopes  which  he  inspired 
amongst  his  followers,  and  to  have  relied  upon  the 
foreign  assistance  which  the  Regent  Duke  of  Or- 
leans wanted  both  power  and  inclination  to  afford. 
He  believed,  also,  the  kingdom  was  so  ripe  for  re- 
bellion, that  nothing  was  necessary  save  to  kindle  a 
spark  in  order  to  produce  a  general  conflagration. 
In  a  word,  his  trust  was  reposed  in  what  is  call- 
ed a  chapter  of  accidents.  Before  the  battle  of 
Sheriffmuir,  his  inactivity  seems  to  have  been 
unpardonable,  since  he  suffered  the  Duke  of  Ar- 
gyle,  by  assuming  a  firm  attitude,  to  neutralize  and 
control  a  force  of  four  times  his  numbers ;  but  af- 
ter that  event,  to  continue  the  enteiprise  was  in- 
sanity, since  each  moment  he  lingered  brought  him 


AS    A    GENERAL.  2Y6 


nearer  the  edge  of  the  precipice.  Yet  even  the 
Chevalier  was  invited  over  to  share  the  dangers  and 
disgrace  of  an  inevitable  retreat.  In  short,  the 
whole  history  of  the  insurrection  shows  that  no 
combination  can  be  more  unfortunate  than  that  of  a 
bold  undertaking  with  an  irresolute  leader. 

The  Earl  of  Mar  for  several  years  afterwards 
managed  the  state  affairs  of  the  Chevalier  de  St 
George,  the  mock  minister  of  a  mock  cabinet,  un- 
til the  beginning  of  the  year  1721,  when  he  became 
deprived  of  his  master's  confidence.  He  spent  the 
rest  of  his  life  abroad,  and  in  retirement.  This  unfor- 
tunate Earl  was  a  man  of  fine  taste ;  and  in  devis- 
ing modes  of  improving  Edinburgh,  the  capital  of 
Scotland,  was  more  fortunate  than  he  had  been  in 
schemes  for  the  alteration  of  her  government.  He 
gave  the  first  hints  for  several  of  the  modern  im- 
prov^ements  of  the  city. 

The  Duke  of  Argyle  having  taken  the  most  ac- 
tive measures  for  extinguishing  the  embers  of  the 
rebellion,  by  dispersing  the  bodies  of  men  who 
were  still  in  arms,  directed  moveable  columns  to 
traverse  the  Highlands  in  every  direction,  for  re- 
ceiving the  submission  of  such  as  were  humbled, 
or  exercising  force  on  those  who  might  resist.  He 
arrived  at  Edinburgh  on  the  27th  of  February, 
when  the  magistrates,  who  had  not  forgot  his  boid 
march  to  rescue  the  city  when  menaced  by  Briga- 
dier Macintosh,  entertained  him  with  magnificence. 
From  thence  he  proceeded  to  London,  where  he 
was  received  with  distinction  by  George  T. 

And  now  you  are  doubtless  desirous  of  know- 
ing with  what  new  honours,  augmented  power,  or 


276       ARGYLE  DEPRIVED  OF  HIS  EMPLOYMENT. 

increased  wealth,  the  King  of  England  rewarded 
the  men  whose  genius  had  supplied  the  place  of 
fourfold  numbers,  and  who  had  secured  to  his 
Majesty  the  crown  of  one  at  least  of  his  kingdoms, 
at  a  moment  when  it  was  tottering  on  his  head.  I 
will  answer  you  in  a  word.  In  a  very  short  while 
after  the  conclusion  of  the  vrar,  tlicDuke  of  Argylc 
was  deprived  of  all  his  employments.  The  cause  of 
this  extraordinary  act  of  court  ingratitude  must  be 
sought  in  the  personal  hatred  of  the  Duke  of  Marl- 
borough, in  the  high  spirit  of  the  Duke  of  Argyle, 
which  rendered  him  a  troublesome  and  unmanage- 
able member  of  a  ministerial  cabinet,  and  probably 
in  some  apprehension  of  this  great  man's  increasing 
personal  influence  in  his  native  country  of  Scotland^ 
where  he  was  universally  respected,  and  beloved 
by  many  even  of  the  party  which  he  had  opposed 
in  the  field. 

It  is  imagined,  moreover,  that  the  Duke's  dis- 
grace at  Court  was,  in  some  degree,  connected 
with  a  legislative  enactment  of  a  very  doubtful  ten- 
dency, which  was  used  for  the  trial  of  the  rebel 
prisoners.  We  have  already  mentioned  the  crimi- 
nal proceedings  under  which  the  Preston  prisoners 
suffered.  Those  who  had  been  taken  in  arms  at 
Sheriifmuir  and  elsewhere  in  Scotland,  ought,  ac- 
cording to  the  laws,  both  of  Scotland  and  England, 
to  have  been  tried  in  the  country  where  the  treason 
was  committed.  But  the  English  lawyers  had  in 
recollection  the  proceedings  in  the  year  1707,  when 
*t  was  impossible  to  obtain  from  Grand  Juries  in 
Scotland  the  verdict  of  a  true  bill,  on  which  the 
prisoners  could  be  sent  to  trial.     The  close  con- 


JACOBITE    PRISONERS    REMOVED.  277 

uexion,  by  friendship  and  alliance,  even  of  those 
families  which  were  most  opposed  as  Whigs  and 
Tories,  made  the  victorious  party  in  Scotland  un- 
willing to  be  the  means  of  distressing  the  vanquish- 
ed, and  disposed  them  to  afford  a  loop-hole  for 
escape,  even  at  the  expense  of  strict  justice.  To 
obviate  the  difficulties  of  conviction,  which  might 
have  been  an  encouragement  to  future  acts  of  high 
treason,  it  was  resolved,  that  the  Scottish  offenders 
against  the  treason-laws  should  be  tried  in  England, 
though  the  offence  had  been  committed  in  their  own 
country.  This  was,  no  doubt,  extremely  conven- 
ient for  the  prosecution,  but  it  remains  a  question, 
where  such  innovations  are  to  stop,  when  a  govern- 
ment takes  on  itself  to  alter  the  formal  proceedings 
of  law,  in  order  to  render  the  conviction  of  crimin- 
als more  easy.  The  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  sat, 
notwithstanding,  at  Carlisle,  and  might  have  been 
held  by  the  same  parity  of  reason  at  the  Land's  End 
in  Cornwall,  or  in  the  Isles  of  Scilly.  But  there 
was  a  studied  moderation  towards  the  accused, 
which  seemed  to  intimate,  that  if  the  prisoner's  ab- 
stained from  challenging  the  irregularity  of  the  court, 
they  would  be  favourably  dealt  with.  Many  were 
set  at  liberty,  and  though  twenty-four  were  tried 
and  condemned,  not  one  was  ever  brought  to  exe- 
cution. It  is  asserted,  that  the  Duke  of  Argyle, 
as  a  Scottish  man,  and  one  of  the  framers  of  the 
Union,  had  in  his  Majesty's  councils  declared 
against  an  innovation  which  seemed  to  infringe  up- 
on that  measure,  and  that  the  offence  thus  given 
contributed  to  the  fall  of  his  power  at  Court. 

Free  pardons  were  liberally  distributed  to  all  who 

VOL.  I.  24 


278  SALE    OF    FORFEITED    ESTATES 


had  seceded  from  the  rebellion,  before  its  final 
close.  The  Highland  chiefs  and  clans  were  iu 
general  forgiven,  upon  submission,  and  a  surren- 
der of  the  arms  of  their  people.  This  was  with  the 
disaffected  chiefs  a  simulated  transaction,  no  arms, 
being  given  up  but  such  as  were  of  no  value,  while 
all  that  were  serviceable  were  concealed  and  care- 
fully preserved.  The  loyal  clans,  on  the  other 
hand,  made  an  absolute  surrender,  and  were  after- 
wards found  unarmed  when  the  government  desir- 
ed their  assistance. 

Meantime  the  principles  of  Jacobitism  continu- 
ed to  ferment  in  the  interior  of  the  country,  and 
were  inflamed  by  the  numerous  exiles,  men  of  rank 
and  influence,  who  were  fugitives  from  Britain  in 
consequence  of  attainder.  To  check  these,  and  to 
intimidate  others,  the  estates  of  the  attained  per- 
sons were  declared  forfeited  to  the  crown,  and  vest- 
ed in  trustees,  to  be  sold  for  the  bojiefit  of  the  pub- 
lic. The  revenue  of  the  whole,  though  comprising 
that  of  about  forty  families  of  rank  and  considera- 
tion, did  not  amount  to  £30,000  yearly.  These 
forfeited  estates  were  afterwards  purchased  from 
government  by  a  great  mercantile  company  in 
London,  originally  instituted  for  supplying  the  city 
with  water  by  raising  it  from  the  Thames,  but  which 
having  fallen  under  the  management  of  speculative 
persons,  its  funds,  and  the  facilities  vested  in  it  by 
charter,  had  been  applied  to  very  different  purposes. 
Among  others,  that  of  purchasing  the  forfeited  es- 
tates, was  one  of  the  boldest,  and,  could  the  com- 
pany have  maintained  their  credit,  would  have  been 
one  of  the  most  lucrative  transactions  ever  entered 


SALE    OF    FORFEITED    ESTATES.  279 


into.     But  the  immediate  return  arising  from  this 
immense  extent  of  wood  and  wilderness,  inhabited 
by  tenants  who  were  disposed   to  acknowledge  no 
landlords  but  the  heirs  of  the  ancient  families,   and 
lying  in  remote  districts,  where  law  was  trammel- 
led by  feudal  privileges,  and  affording  little  protec- 
tion to  the  intruders,  was  quite  unequal  to  meet  the 
interest  of  the  debt  which  that  company  had  incur- 
red.    The  purchasers   were,  therefore,   obliged  to 
let  the  land   in  many  cases  to  friends  and   connex- 
ions of  the  forfeited  proprietors,  through  whom  the 
exiled   owners  usually  derived  the  means  of  sub- 
sisting in  the  foreign  land  to  which  their  errors  and 
misfortunes  had  driven  them.     The  affairs  of  the 
York  Building  Company,  who  had  in  this  singular 
manner  become  Scottish  proprietors  to  an  immense 
extent,  afterwards  become  totally  deranged,  owing 
to  the  infidelity  and  extravagance  of  their  managers. 
Attempts  were,  from  time  to  time,  made  to  sell  their 
Scottish  estatesf  but  very  inefficiently,  and  at  great 
disadvantage.     Men  of  capital    showed   an  unwill- 
ingness to  purchase  the  forfeited   property  ;  and  in 
two  or  three   instances   the    dispossessed   families 
were  able  to   re-purchase  them  at   low  rates.     But 
after  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  when  the 
value  of  this  species  of  property  began  to  be  better 
understood,  rival  purchasers  came  forward,  without 
being  deterred   by   the    scruples  which,  in  earlier 
days,  prevented  men  from  bidding  against  the  heirs 
of  the   original   possessors.     Every   new  property 
as  exposed  to  sale  brought   a  higher   price,  some- 
times in  a  tenfold  proportion,  than  those  which  had 
been  at   first  disposed    of,    and   after   more    than  a 


880  PLAN    OF    CHARLES    XII. 

century  of  insolvency,  the  debts  of  the  bankrupt 
company  were  completely  discharged.  Could  they 
have  retained  their  landed  property,  or,  as  was 
once  attempted,  could  any  other  persons  have  been 
placed  in  the  company's  right  to  it,  the  emolument 
would  have  been  immense. 

Before  proceeding  to  less  interesting  matter,  I 
must  here  notice  two  plans  originating  abroad, 
which  were  founded  upon  an  expectation  of  again 
reviving  in  Scotland  the  intestine  war  of  1715. 
Two  years  after  that  busy  period,  Baron  Gorz,  min- 
ister of  Charles  XII.  of  Sweden,  a  man  whose 
politics  were  as  chimerical  as  his  masters  schemes 
of  conquest,  devised  a  confederacy  for  dethroning 
George  I.  and  replacing  on  the  throne  the  heir  of 
the  House  of  Stewart.  His  fiery  master  was  burn- 
ing with  indignation  at  George  for  having  possess- 
ed himself  of  the  towns  of  Bremen  and  Verden. 
Charles's  ancient  enemy,  the  Czar  Peter,  was  also 
disposed  to  countenance  the  scheme,  and  Cardinal 
Alberoni,  then  the  all-powerful  minister  of  the  King 
of  Spain,  afforded  it  his  warm  support.  The  plan 
was,  that  a  descent  of  ten  thousand  troops  should 
be  effected  in  Scotland,  under  the  command  of 
Charles  XII.  himself,  to  whose  redoubted  charac- 
ter for  courage  and  determination  the  success  of  the 
enterprise  was  to  be  intrusted.  It  might  be  amus- 
ing to  consider  the  probable  consequences  which 
might  have  arisen  from  the  iron-headed  Swede  plac- 
ing himself  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  Highland  en- 
thusiasts, with  courage  as  romantic  as  his  own.  In 
following  the  speculation,  it  might  be  doubted 
whether  this  leader  and   his  troops  v/ould  be  more 


FOR   INVADING  SCOTLAND.  281 

endeared  to  each  other  by  a  congenial  audacity  of 
mind,  or  alienated  by  Charles's  habits  of  despotic 
authority,  which  the  mountaineers  would  probably 
have  found  themselves  unable  to  endure.  But  such 
a  speculation  would  lead  us  far  from  our  proper  path. 
The  conspiracy  was  discovered  by  the  spies  of  the 
French  government,  then  in  strict  alliance  with 
England,  and  all  possibility  of  the  proposed  scheme 
being  put  into  execution  was  destroyed  by  the  death 
of  Charles  XII.  before  Frederickshall,  in  1718. 

But  although  this  undertaking  had  failed,  the  en- 
terprising Alberoni  continued  to  nourish  hopes  of 
being  able  to  effect  a  counter-revolution  in  Great 
Britain,  by  the  aid  of  the  Spanish  forces.  The 
Chevalier  de  St  George  was,  in  1719,  invited  to 
Madrid,  and  received  there  with  the  honours  due  to 
the  King  of  England.  Six  thousand  troops,  with 
twelve  thousand  stand  of  arms,  were  put  on  board 
of  ten  ships  of  war,  and  the  whole  armada  was  plac- 
ed under  the  command  of  the  Duke  of  Ormond. 
But  all  efforts  to  assist  the  unlucky  house  of  Stew- 
art were  frowned  on  by  fortune  and  the  elements. 
The  fleet  was  encountered  by  a  severe  tempest  off 
Cape  Finisterre,  which  drove  them  back  to  Spain, 
and  disconcerted  tneir  wno.e  enterprise.  An  in- 
considerable part  of  the  expedition,  being  two  frig- 
ates from  St  Sebastian,  arrived  with  three  hun- 
dred men,  some  arms,  ammunition,  and  money,  at 
their  place  of  destination  in  the  island  of  Lewis. 
The  exiled  leaders  on  board,  were  the  Marquis  of 
Tullibardine,  the  Earl  Marischal,  and  the  Earl  of 
Seaforth. 

We  ha\e  not   had  occasion  to  mention  Seaforth 
24* 


282  CARDINAL    ALBERON] 


r 


since  he  separated  from  the  army  of  Mar  at  the 
same  time  with  the  Marquis  of  Huntly,  in  order  to 
oppose  the  Earl  of  Sutherland,  whom  the  success 
of  Lovat  at  Inverness  had  again  brought  into  the 
field  on  the  part  of  the  government.  When  the 
two  Jacobite  leaders  reached  their  own  territories, 
they  found  the  Earl  of  Sutherland  so  strong,  and 
the  prospects  of  their  own  party  had  assumed  so 
desperate  dn  aspect,  that  they  were  induced  to  enter 
into  an  engagement  with  Sutherland  to  submit  them- 
selves to  government.  Huntly  kept  his  promise, 
and  never  again  joined  the  rebels,  for  which  sub- 
mission he  received  a  free  pardon.  But  the  Earl 
of  Seaforth  again  assumed  arms  in  his  island  of 
Lewis,  about  the  end  of  February,  1715-16.  A 
detachment  of  regular  troops  was  sent  against  the 
refractory  chief,  commanded  by  Colonel  Cholmon- 
dely,  who  reduced  those  who  were  in  arms.  Sea- 
forth had  escaped  to  France,  and  from  thence  to 
Spain,  where  he  had  resided  for  some  time,  and  was 
now,  in  1719,  dispatched  to  his  native  country,  with 
a  view  to  the  assistance  so  powerful  a  chief  could 
give  to  the  projected  invasion. 

On  his  arrival  at  his  own  island  of  Lewis,  Sea- 
forth speedily  raised  a  few  hundred  Highlanders, 
and  crossed  over  to  Kintail,  with  the  purpose  of 
giving  a  new  impulse  to  the  insurrection.  Here 
he  made  some  additions  to  his  clan  levies  ;  but,  ere 
he  could  gather  any  considerable  force.  General 
Wightman  marched  against  him  wi^h  a  body  of  reg- 
ular troops  from  Inverness,  aided  by  the  Monros, 
Rosses,  and  other  loval  or  whig  clans  of  the  north- 
ern Highlands. 


BATTLE    OF    GLENSHIEL.  283 

They  found  Seafortli  in  possession  of  a  pass  call- 
ed Straehells,  near  the  great  valley  of  Glenshiel. 
A  desultory  combat  took  place,  in  which  there  was 
much  skirmishing  and  sharp-shooting,  the  Spaniards 
and  Seaforth's  men  keeping  the  pass.  George 
Monro,  younger  of  Culcairn,  engaged  on  the  side 
of  government,  received  during  this  action  a  severe 
wound,  by  which  he  was  disabled  for  the  time.  As 
the  enemy  continued  to  fire  on  him,  the  wounded 
chief  commanded  his  servant,  who  had  waited  by 
him,  to  retire,  and,  leaving  him  to  his  fate,  to  ac- 
quaint his  father  and  friends  that  he  had  died  hon- 
ourably. The  poor  fellow  burst  into  tears,  and, 
asking  his  master  how  he  could  suppose  he  would 
forsake  him  in  that  condition,  he  spread  himself  over 
his  body,  so  as  to  intercept  the  balls  of  the  enemy, 
and  actually  received  several  wounds  designed  for 
his  master.  They  were  both  rescued  from  the 
most  imminent  peril  by  a  sergeant  of  Culcairn's 
company,  who  had  sworn  an  oath  on  his  dirk  that 
he  would  accomplish  his  chief's  deliverance. 

The  battle  was  but  slightly  contested ;  but  the 
advantage  was  on  the  side  of  the  MacKenzies,  who 
lost  only  one  man,  while  the  government  troops  had 
several  killed  and  wounded.  They  were  compell- 
ed to  retreat  without  dislodging  the  enemy,  and  to 
leave  their  own  wounded  on  the  field,  many  of 
whom  the  victors  are  said  to  have  dispatched  with 
their  dirks.  But  though  the  MacKenzies  obtained 
a  partial  success,  it  was  not  such  as  to  encourage 
perseverance  ift  the  undertaking,  especially  as  their 
chief.  Lord  Seaforth,  being  badly  wounded,  could 
no  longer  direct  their  enterprise.     They  determin- 


284      SEAFORTH's    E^-TtitFRiSE    ABANDONED. 


ed,  therefore,  to  disperse  as  soon  as  night  fell,  the 
rather  that  several  of  their  allies  were  not  dispos- 
ed to  renew  the  contest.  One  clan,  for  example, 
had  been  lent  to  Seaforth  for  the  seiTice  of  the 
da}',  under  the  special  paction  on  the  part  of  the 
chief,  that  however  the  battle  went,  they  should 
return  before  next  morning  ;  this  occasional  assis- 
tance being  only  regarded  in  the  light  of  a  neigh- 
bourly accommodation  to  Lord  Seaforth. 

The  wounded  Earl,  with  Tullibardine  and  Mar- 
ischal,  escaped  to  the  continent.  The  three  hun- 
dred Spaniards  next  laid  down  their  arms,  and  sur- 
rendered themselves  prisoners.  The  affair  of 
Glenshiel  might  be  called  the  last  faint  sparkle  of 
the  great  rebellion  of  1715,  which  was  fortunately 
extinguished  for  want  of  fuel.  A  vague  rumour  of 
Earl  Marischal's  having  re-landed  had,  however, 
well-nigh  excited  a  number  of  the  most  zealous 
Jacobites  once  more  to  take  the  field,  but  it  was 
contradicted  before  they  adopted  so  rash  a  step. 


[  285  J 


CHAP.    XIV. 


rians  for  the  more  effectual  Pacification  and  Improvement  of  the 
Highlands,  executed  under  the  superintendance  of  Field-Mar- 
shal Wade — Highland  Roads— Tax  upon  Ale — Opposition  to  it 
in  Scotland — Riots  at  Glasgow — Their  suppression — The  Brew- 
ers of  Edinburgh  refuse  to  continue  the  Brewing  of  Ale — but  are 
compelled  bjr  the  Court  of  Sessions  to  resume  their  Trade — De- 
cay of  Jacobitism — The  Porteous  Mob. 

It  might  well  have  been  expected,  after  the  foun- 
rlations  of  the  throne  had  been  so  shaken  by  the 
storm  in  1715,  that  the  government  would  have 
looked  earnestly  into  the  causes  which  rendered  the 
Highland  clans  so  dangerous  to  the  public  tranquil- 
lity, and  that  some  measures  would  have  been  taken 
for  preventing  their  ready  valour  being  abused  into 
the  means  of  ruining  both  themselves  and  others. 
Accordingly  the  English  ministers  lost  no  time  in 
resorting  to  the  more  forcible  and  obvious  means  of 
military  subjugation,  which  necessarily  are,  and 
must  be,  the  most  immediate  remedy  in  such  a 
case,  though  far  from  being  the  most  effectual  in 
the  long  run.  The  law  for  disarming  the  High- 
landers, although  in  many  cases  evaded,  had  yet 
been  so  generally  enforced  as  to  occasion  general 
complaints  of  robbery  by  bands  of  armed  men, 
which  the  country  had  no  means  of  resisting. — 
Those  complaints  were  not  without  foundation; 
but  they  were  greatly  exaggerated  by  Simon  Fruscfj 


2S6  PLANS    FOR   THE    PACIFICATION 

now  called  Lord  Lovat,  and  others,  who  were  de- 
sirous to  obtain  arms  for  their  vassals,  that  they 
might  serve  purposes  of  their  own. 

Accordingly,  in  1724,  a  warrant  under  the  sign 
manual  was  granted  to  Field-Marshal  Wade,  an 
officer  of  skill  and  experience,  with  instructions  nar- 
rowly to  inspect  and  report  upon  the  state  of  the 
Highlands ;  the  best  measures  for  enforcing  the 
laws  and  protecting  the  defenceless ;  the  modes  of 
communication  which  might  be  opened  through  the 
country  ;  and  whatever  other  remedies  might  con- 
duce to  the  quiet  of  a  district  so  long  distracted. 
In  1725,  a  new  sign  manuel  was  issued  to  the  same 
officer  for  the  same  purpose.  In  consequence  of 
the  Marshal's  report,  various  important  meiisures 
were  taken.  The  clan  of  the  MacKenzies  had  for 
years  refused  to  account  for  the  rents  on  Seaforth's 
forfeited  estates  to  the  collector  nominated  by  gov- 
ernment, and  had  paid  them  to  a  factor  appointed 
amongst  themselves,  who  conveyed  them  openly  to 
the  exiled  Earl.  This  state  of  things  was  now 
stopped,  and  the  clan  compelled  to  submit  and  give 
up  their  arms,  the  government  liberally  granting 
them  an  indulgence  and  remission  for  such  arrears 
as  they  had  transmitted  to  Seaforth  in  their  obsti- 
nate fidelity  to  him.  Other  clans  submitted,  and 
made  at  least  an  ostensible  surrender  of  their  arms, 
although  many  of  the  most  serviceable  were  retain- 
ed by  the  clans  which  were  hostile  to  government. 
An  armed  vessel  was  stationed  on  Lochness,  to 
command  the  shores  of  that  extensive  lake.  Bar- 
racks were  rebuilt  in  some  places,  founded  anew 
in  otliors.  nml  lUiod  with  regular  soldier 


OF    THC    HIGHLANDS.  287 

Another  measure  of  very  dubious  utility,  which 
had  been  resorted  to  by  King  William,  and  disused 
by  George  I.,  was  now  again  had  recourse  to. 
This  was  the  establishment  of  independent  compa- 
nies to  secure  the  peace  of  the  Highlands,  and  sup- 
press the  gangs  of  thieves  who  carried  on  so  bold  a 
trade  of  depredation.  These  companies,  consist- 
ing of  Highlanders,  dressed  and  armed  in  their  o^vn 
peculiar  manner,  were  placed  under  the  command 
of  men  well  affected  to  government,  or  supposed 
to  be  so,  and  having  a  great  interest  in  the  High- 
lands. It  was  truly  said,  that  such  a  militia,  know- 
ing the  language  and  manners  of  the  country,  could 
do  more  than  ten  times  the  number  of  regular  troop:^ 
to  put  a  stop  to  robbery.  But  on  the  other  hand, 
it  had  been  found  by  experience,  that  the  privates 
in  such  corps,  often,  from  clanship  or  other  motives, 
connived  at  the  thefts,  or  compounded  for  them 
with  the  delinquents.  Their  officers  were  accused 
of  imposing  upon  government  by  false  musters ; 
and  above  all,  the  doubtful  faith  even  of  those  chiefs 
who  made  the  strongest  show  of  affection  to  govern- 
ment, rendered  the  re-establishment  of  Black  sol- 
diers, as  they  were  called,  to  distinguish  them  from 
the  regular  troops,  who  wore  the  red  natioal  uni- 
form, a  measure  of  precarious  policy.  It  was  re- 
sorted to,  however,  and  six  companies  were  raised 
on  this  principle. 

Marshal  Wade  had  also  the  power  of  receiving 
submission  and  granting  protections  to  outlaws  or 
others  exposed  to  punishment  for  the  late  rebellion, 
and  received  many  of  them  into  the  King's  peace 
accordingly.      He    granted,    besides,    licenses    to 


t 


'2^S         PACIFICATION    OF    THE    HIGHLANDS.  ^ 

drovers,  foresters,  dealers  in  cattle,  and  others  en- 
gaged in  such  traffic,  empowering  them  to  carry 
arms  for  the  defence  of  their  persons  and  property. 
In  all  his  proceedings  towards  the  Highlanders, 
there  may  be  distinguished  a  general  air  of  human- 
ity and  good  sense,  which  rendered  him  a  popular 
character,  even  while  engaged  in  executing  orders 
which  they  looked  upon  with  the  utmost  degree  of 
jealousy  and  suspicion. 

The  Jacobite  partisans,  in  the  meanwhile,  partly 
by  letters  from  abroad,  partly  by  agents  of  ability 
who  traversed  the  country  on  purpose,  did  all  in 
their  power  to  thwart  and  interrupt  the  measures 
which  were  taken  to  reduce  the  Highlands  to  a  state 
of  peaceful  cultivation.  The  act  for  disarming  the 
body  of  the  people  they  represented  in  the  most 
odious  colours,  though,  indeed,  it  is  hardly  possible 
to  aggravate  the  feelings  of  shame  and  dishonour  in 
which  a  free  people  must  always  indulge  at  being 
deprived  of  the  means  of  self-defence.  And  the 
practical  doctrine  was  not  new  to  them,  that  if  the 
parties  concerned  could  evade  this  attempt  to  de- 
prive them  of  their  natural  right  and  lawful  proper- 
ty, either  by  an  elusory  surrender,  or  by  such  pro- 
fessions as  might  induce  the  government  to  leave 
them  in  possession  of  their  weapons,  whether  under 
license,  or  as  members  of  the  independent  com- 
panies, it  would  be  no  dishonour  in  oppressed 
men  meeting  force  by  craft,  and  eluding  the  un- 
just and  unreasonable  demands  which  they  wanted 
means  openly  to  resist.  Much  of  the  quiet  obtain- 
ed by  Marshal  Wade's  measures  was  apparent  on- 
ly ;  and  while  he  boasts  that  the  Highlanders,  in- 


WADE'b    HIGHLAND     rtOADS.  289 


stead  of  going  armed  with  guns,  swords,  dirks, 
and  pistols,  now  travelled  to  churches,  markets, 
and  fairs  with  only  a  staff  in  their  hands,  the  vete- 
ran General  was  ignorant  how  many  thousand 
weapons,  landed  from  the  Spanish  frigates  in  1719, 
or  otherwise  introduced  into  the  country,  lay  in 
caverns  and  other  places  of  concealment,  ready  for 
use  when  occasion  should  offer. 

But  the  gigantic  part  of  Marshal  Wade's  task, 
and  that  which  he  executed  with  the  most  complete 
success,  was  the  establishment  of  military  roads 
through  the  rugged  and  desolate  regions  of  the  north, 
insuring  the  free  passage  of  regular  troops  in  a 
country,  of  which  it  might  have  been  said,  while  in 
its  natural  state,  that  every  mountain  was  a  natural 
fortress,  every  valley  a  defensible  pass.  The  roads, 
as  they  were  termed,  through  the  Highlands,  had 
been  hitherto  mere  tracks,  made  by  the  feet  of  men 
and  the  cattle  which  they  drove  before  them,  inter- 
rupted by  rocks,  morasses,  torrents,  and  all  the  fea- 
tures of  an  inaccessible  country,  where  a  stranger, 
even  unopposed,  might  have  despaired  of  making 
his  solitary  way,  but  where  the  passage  of  a  regular 
body  of  troops,  with  cavalry,  artillery,  and  bag- 
gage, was  altogether  impossible.  These  rugged 
paths,  by  the  labours  of  the  soldiers  employed  under 
Field-Marshal  Wade,  were,  by  an  extraordinary 
exertion  of  skill  and  labour,  converted  into  excel- 
lent roads  of  great  breadth  and  sound  formation, 
which  have  ever  since  his  time  afforded  a  free  and 
open  communication  through  all  parts  of  the  Scot- 
tish Flighlands. 

Two    of  these    highways  enter  among  the  hills 
VOL.  [.  25' 


290  v.ade's  highland  roads. 

from  the  low  country,  the  one  at  CriefF,  near  Stirl- 
ing, the  other  at  Dimkeld,  not  very  far  from  Perth. 
Penetrating  around  the  mountains  from  differen 
quarters,  these  two  branches  unite  at  Dalnacardoch, 
From  thence  a  single  line  leads  to  Dal  whinny, 
wjiere  it  again  divides  into  two.  One  road  runs 
north-west  through  Garviemore,  and  over  the  tre- 
mendous pass  of  Corryarick,  to  a  new  fort  raised  by 
IMarshal  Wade,  called  Fort  Augustus.  The  second 
line  extends  from  Dalnacardoch  north  to  the  bar- 
racks of  Ruthven,  in  Lochaber,  and  thence  to  In- 
verness. From  that  town  it  proceeds  almost  due 
westward  across  the  island,  connecting  Fort  Augus- 
tus above-mentioned,  with  Inverness,  and  so  pro- 
ceeding to  Fort  William,  in  Lochaber,  traversing 
the  country  inhabited  by  the  Camerons,  the  Mac- 
Donalds  of  Glengarry,  and  other  clans  judged  to  be 
the  worst  affected  to  the  reigning  family. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  Highlanders  ot 
that  period  saw  with  indifference  the  defensive  char- 
acter of  their  country  destroyed,  and  the  dusky  wil- 
dernesses, which  had  defied  the  approach  of  the 
Romans,  rendered  accessible  in  almost  every  di- 
rection to  the  regular  troops  of  the  government. 
We  can  suppose  that  it  affected  them  as  the  dis- 
mantling of  some  impregnable  citadel  might  do 
the  inhabitants  of  the  country  which  it  protected, 
and  that  the  pang  which  they  experienced  at  seeing 
their  glens  exposed  to  a  hostile,  or  at  least  a  strang- 
er force,  was  similar  to  that  which  they  felt  at  the 
resignation  of  the  weapons  of  their  fathers.  But 
those  feelings  and  circumstances  have  passed  away, 
and  the  Highland  military  roads  will  continue  an 


HIGHLAND    ROADS.  294 


inestimable  advantage  to  the  countries  wliicli  they 
,  raverse,  although  no  longer  requiring  them  to  check 
.apprehended  insurrection,  and  will  long  exhibit  a 
])ublic  monument  of  skill  and  patience,  not  unwor- 
thy of  the    ancient   Romans.      Upon   the   Roman 
principle,   also,  the  regular  soldiers  were  employed 
11  this  laborious  work,  and  reconciled  to  the  task 
;y  some  trifling   addition  of  pay;  an  experiment 
\  hich  succeeded  so  well  as  to  excite  some  surprise 
hat  public  works  have  not  been  more  frequently 
executed  by  similar  means. 

Other  measures  of  the  most  laudable  character 

were  resorted  to  by  the  government  and  their  friends, 

for  the  improvement  of  the  Highlands;  but  as  they 

vere  of  a  description  not  qualified  to  produce  ame- 

iorating  effects,  save  after  a  length  of  time,  they 

vere  but  carelessly  urged.     They  related  to  the  ed- 

i cation  of  this  wild  population,  and  the  care  neces- 

ary  to   train  the  rising  generation  in  moral  and  re- 

igious  principles ;  but  the  Act  of  Parliament  framed 

lor  this  end,  proved  in  a  great  measure  ineffectual. 

Those  exertions, which  ought  to  have  been  national, 

vere  in  some  degree  supplied  by  the  Society  for  the 

-Propagation  of  Christian  Knowledge  in  the  High- 

itinds    and   Isles,   who,    by   founding  chapels  and 

schools  in  different  places,  did  more  for  enlighten- 

•  ig  the  people  of  that  country,  than  had  been  achiev- 

d  by  any  prince  who  had  yet  reigned   in  or  over 

'Scotland. 

While  Marshal  Wade  was  employed  in  pacify- 
ing the  Highlands,  and  rendering  them  accessible 
to  military  forces,  a  subject  of  discontent  broke 
out  in  the  Lowlands  which  threatened  serious  conse- 


292  TAX    UPON    ALE. 


quences.  The  government  had  now  become  de- 
sirous to  make  the  income  of  Scotland  a  source  of 
revenue  to  the  general  exchequer,  as  hitherto  it  had 
been  found  scarcely  adequate  to  maintain  the  pub- 
lic institutions  of  the  kingdom,  and  to  pay  and  sup- 
port the  troops  which  it  was  necessary  to  quarter 
there  for  the  general  tranquillity.  Now  a  surplus 
of  revenue  was  desirable,  and  the  Jacobites  invid- 
iously reported  that  the  immediate  object  was  chief- 
ly to  find  funds  in  Scotland  for  defraying  an  expense 
of  about  ten  guineas  weekly,  allowed  to  every 
North  British  Member  of  Parliament,  for  support- 
ing the  charge  of  his  residence  in  London.  This 
expense  had  been  hitherto  imposed  on  the  general 
revenue,  but  now,  said  the  Jacobites,  the  Scottish 
Members  were  made  aware  by  Sir  Robert  Walpole, 
that  they  were  to  find,  or  acquiesce  in,  some  mode 
of  making  up  this  sum  out  of  the  Scottish  revenue  ; 
or,  according  to  a  significant  phrase,  that  they  must 
in  future  lay  their  account  with  tying  up  their  stock- 
ings with  their  own  garters. 

With  this  view  of  rendering  the  Scottish  revenue 
more  efficient,  it  was  resolved  to  impose  a  tax  of 
sixpense  per  barrel  on  all  ale  brewed  in  Scotland. 
Upon  the  appearance  of  a  desperate  resistance  to  this 
proposal,  the  tax  was  lowered  to  threepence  per 
barrel,  or  one  half  of  what  was  originally  proposed. 
In  this  modified  proposal  the  Scottish  Members  ac- 
quiesced. Yet  it  did  not  become  more  popular  in 
Scotland  ;  for  it  went  to  enhance  the  rate  of  a  com- 
modity in  daily  request,  and  excited  by  the  in- 
flammatory language  of  those  whose  interest  it  was 
to  incense  the  populace,  the  principal  towns  in  Scot- 


RIOTS    IN    GLASGOW.  293 

land  prepared  to  resist  the  imposition  at  ail  haz- 
ards. 

Glasgow,  so  eminent  for  its  loyalty  in  1715, 
was  now  at  the  head  of  this  opposition  ;  and  on  the 
23d  June,  when  the  duty  was  to  be  laid  on,  the 
general  voice  of  the  people  of  that  city  declared  that 
they  would  not  submit  to  its  payment,  and  piles  of 
stones  were  raised  against  the  doors  of  the  brewer- 
ies and  malt-houses,  with  a  warning  to  all  excise 
officers  to  keep  their  distance.  On  the  appearance 
of  these  alarming  symptoms,  two  companies  of  foot, 
under  Captain  Bushell,  were  marched  from  Edin- 
burgh to  Glasgow  to  prevent  further  disturbances. 
When  the  soldiers  arrived,  they  found  that  the  mob 
had  taken  possession  of  the  guard-house  and  refus- 
ed them  admittance.  The  Provost  of  the  city,  a 
timid  or  treacherous  man,  prevailed  on  Captain 
Bushell  to  send  his  men  into  their  quarters,  without 
occupying  the  guard-house  or  any  other  place  prop- 
er to  serve  for  an  alarm-post  or  rendezvous.  Pre- 
sently after,  the  rabble,  becoming  more  and  more 
violent,  directed  their  fury  against  Daniel  Camp- 
bell of  Shawfield,  member  for  the  city,  and  the  set 
of  boroughs  in  which  it  is  included.  His  mansion, 
then  the  most  elegant  in  Glasgow,  was  totally  de- 
stroyed; and  the  mob,  breaking  into  his  cellars, 
found  fresh  incitement  to  their  fury  in  the  liquors 
there  contained.  All  this  was  done  without  oppo- 
sition, although  Captain  Bushell  offered  the  assist- 
ance of  his  soldiers  to  keep  the  peace. 

Next  day  the  Provost  ventured  to  break  open 
(he  guard-room  door,  and  the  soldiers  were  direct- 
cd  to  repair  thither.     One  or  two  rioters  were  ?.lso 


294  ON    ACCOUiST    OF    THE    ALE-TAX. 


apprehended.  Upon  these  symptoms  of  reviving 
authority,  an  alarm  was  beat  by  the  mob,  who  as- 
sembled in  a  more  numerous  and  formidable  body 
than  ever,  and,  surrounding  BushelPs  two  compa- 
nies, loaded  them  with  abuse,  maltreated  them  with 
stones,  and  compelled  them  at  last  to  fire,  when 
nine  men  were  killed  and  many  wounded.  The 
rioters,  undismayed,  rung  the  alarm  bell,  broke  in- 
to the  town  magazine  of  arms,  seized  all  the  mus- 
kets they  could  find,  and  continued  the  attack  on 
the  soldiers.  Captain  Bushell,  by  the  command, 
and  at  the  entreaty  of  the  Provost,  now  commenced 
a  retreat  to  Dunbarton  Castle,  insulted  and  pursued 
by  the  mob  a  third  part  of  the  way. 

In  the  natural  resentment  excited  by  this  formi- 
dable insurrection,  the  Lord  Advocate  for  the  time 
(the"' celebrated  Duncan  Forbes)  advanced  to  Glas- 
gow, at  the  head  of  a  considerable  army  of  horse, 
foot,  and  artillery.  Many  threats  were  thrown  out 
against  the  rioters,  and  the  magistrates  were  se- 
verely censured  for  a  gross  breach  of  duty.  But  the 
cool  sagacity  of  the  Lord  Advocate  anticipated  the 
difliculty  which,  in  the  inflamed  state  of  the  public 
mind,  he  was  likely  to  experience  in  procuring  a 
verdict  against  such  ofl'euders  as  he  might  Bring  to 
trial.  So  that  the  affair  passed  away  with  less 
noise  than  might  have  been  expected,  it  having 
been  ascertained  that  the  riot  had  no  political  ten- 
dency ;  and  though  inflamed  by  the  leading  Jaco- 
bites, was  begun  and  carried  on  by  the  people  of 
Glasgow,  solely  on  the  principle  of  a  resolution 
to  drink  their  twopenny  ale  untaxed. 

The    metropolis  of  SrotJand     took   tb.is    excise 


DECAY    OF    JACOBITISM.  295 


tax  more  coolly  than  the  inhabitants  of  Glasgow, 
for,  though  greatly  averse  to  the  exaction,  they  only- 
opposed  it  by  a  sort  of  vis  inerficc,  the  principal 
brewers  threatening  to  resign  their  trade,  and,  if 
the  impost  was  continued,  to  brew  no  more  ale  foi 
the  supply  of  the  public.  The  Lords  of  the  Court 
of  Sessions  declared  by  an  Act  of  Sederunt,  that  the 
brewers  had  no  right  to  withdraw  themselves  from 
their  occupation  ;  and  when  the  brewers,  in  reply, 
attempted  to  show  that  they  could  not  be  legally 
compelled  to  follow  their  trade,  after  it  had  been 
rendered  a  losing  one,  the  Court  appointed  their 
petition  to  be  burnt  by  the  hands  of  the  common 
hangman,  assuring  them  they  would  be  allowed  no 
alternative  between  the  exercise  of  their  trade  or 
imprisonment.  Finally,  four  of  the  recusants  were 
actually  thrown  into  jail,  which  greatly  shook  the 
fiimness  of  these  refractory  fermentators,  and  at 
length  reflecting  that  the  ultimate  loss  must  fall  not 
on  them,  but  on  the  public,  they  returned  to  the  or- 
dinary exercise  of  their  trade,  and  quietly  paid  the 
duties  imposed  on  their  liquor. 

i'he  Union  having  now  begun  in  some  degree  to 
produce  beneficial  effects,  the  Jacobite  party  were 
gradually  losing  much  of  the  influence  over  the 
public  mind  which  had  arisen  out  of  the  general 
prejudices  against  that  measure,  and  the  natural 
disgust  at  the  manner  in  which  it  was  carried  on 
and  concluded.  Accordingly,  the  next  narrative 
of  a  historical  character  which  occurs  as  proper  to 
tell  you,  is  unmingled  with  politics  of  Whig  and 
Tory,  and  must  be  simply  regarded  as  a  strong  and 
powerful  display   of  the  cool,   stern,  and   resolved 


296  THE    PORTEOUS    MOB. 


manner  in  which  the  Scottish,  even  of  the  lower 
classes,  can  concert  and  execute  a  vindictive  pur- 
pose. 

The  coast  of  Fife,  full  of  little  boroughs  and  pet- 
ty seaports,  was,  of  course,  much  frequented  by 
smugglers,  men  constantly  engaged  in  disputes  with 
the  execise  officers,  which  were  sometimes  at- 
tended with  violence.  Wilson  and  Robertson,  two 
persons  of  inferior  rank,  but  rather  distinguished  in 
the  contraband  trade,  had  sustained  great  loss  by 
seizure  of  smuggled  goods.  The  step  from  illicit 
trading  to  positive  robbery  is  not  a  long  one.  The 
two  men  robbed  the  collector  to  indemnify  them- 
selves from  the  effects  of  the  seizure.  They  were 
tried  before  the  Court  of  Justiciary,  and  condemned 
to  death. 

While  the  two  criminals  were  lying  under  sen- 
tence in  the  Tolbooth  of  Edinburgh,  they  obtained 
possession  of  a  file,  with  which  they  rid  themselves 
of  their  irons,  and  cut  through  a  bar  in  the  jail  win- 
dow. One  of  them  at  least  might  have  made  his 
escape,  but  for  the  obstinacy  of  Wilson.  This  man, 
of  a  bulky  person,  insisted  on  making  the  first  es- 
say of  the  breach  which  had  been  accomplished, 
and  haviiig  stuck  fast  between  the  bars,  was  una- 
ble either  to  get  through  or  to  return  back.  Dis- 
covery was  the  consequence,  and  precautions  were 
taken  against  any  repetition  of  such  attempts  to  es- 
cape. Wilson  reflected  bitterly  on  himself  for  not 
having  permitted  his  comrade  to  make  the  first  tri- 
al, to  whom,  as  being  light  and  slender,  the  bars 
would  have  been  no  obstacle.  He  resolved,  with 
a  spirit  v/orthy  of  a  better  man,  to  atone  to  his  com- 
panion, at  all  risks,  for  the  injury  he  had  done  him. 


THE    PORTEOUS    MOB.  297 

At  this  time  it  was  the  custom  in  Edinburgh  for 
criminals  under  sentence  of  death  to  be  carried,  un- 
der a  suitable  guard,  to  hear  divine  service  in  a 
church  adjacent  to  the  prison.  Wilson  and  Rob- 
ertson were  brought  thither  accordingly,  under  the 
custody  of  four  soldiers  or  the  city-guard.  When 
the  service  was  over,  Wilson,  who  was  a  very 
strong  man,  suddenly  seized  a  soldier  with  each 
hand,  and  calling  to  his  comrade  to  fly  for  his  life, 
detained  a  third  by  grappling  his  collar  with  his 
teeth.  Robertson  shook  himself  clear  of  the  fourth, 
and  making  his  escape  over  the  pews  of  the  church, 
was  no  more  heard  of  in  Edinburgh.  The  common 
people,  to  whose  comprehension  the  original  crime 
for  which  the  men  were  condemned  had  nothing 
very  abhorrent  in  it,  were  struck  with  the  gen- 
erosity and  self-devotion  that  this  last  action  evinc- 
ed, and  took  such  an  interest  in  Wilson's  fate,  that 
it  w^as  generally  rumoured  there  would  be  an  at- 
tempt to  rescue  him  at  the  place  of  execution.  To 
prev'ent,  as  was  their  duty,  any  riotous  plan  of  this 
kind,  the  magistrates  ordered  a  party  of  the  guard 
of  the  city,  a  sort  of  31arechaussee  or  gens  cVarms^ 
armed  and  trained  as  soldiers,  to  protect  the  ex- 
ecution. 

The  captain  of  the  party  was  the  celebrated  John 
Porteous,  whose  name  will  long  be  remembered  in 
Scotland.  This  man,  whose  father  was  a  burgess 
and  citizen  of  Edinburgh,  had  himself  been  bred  in 
the  regular  army,  circumstances  which  recommend- 
ed him  to  the  magistrates,  when  in  the  year  1715 
they  were  desirous  to  give  their  civic  guard  some- 
thing of  a  more  effective  military  chnracter.     As 


203  THE    PORTEOUS    MOJ 


an  active  police  officer  Porteous  was  Recessarily 
often  in  collision  with  the  rabble  of  the  city,  and 
being  strict,  and  even  severe  in  the  manner  in  which 
he  repressed  and  chastised  petty  riots  and  delin- 
quencies, he  was,  as  is  usual  with  persons  of  his 
calling,  extremely  unpopular  and  odious  to  the  rab- 
ble. They  also  accused  him  of  abusing  the  au- 
thority reposed  in  him,  to  protect  the  extravagan- 
cies of  the  rich  and  powerful,  while  he  was  inexor- 
able in  punishing  the  license  of  the  poor.  Porte- 
ous had  besides  a  good  deal  of  the  pride  of  his  pro- 
fession, and  seems  to  have  been  determined  to 
show  that  the  corps  he  commanded  was  adequate, 
without  assistance,  to  dispel  any  commotion  in  the 
city  of  Edinburgh.  For  this  reason,  he  considered 
it  rather  as  an  aifront  that  the  magistrates,  on  occa- 
sion of  Wilson's  execution,  had  ordered  Moyle\s 
regiment  to  be  drawn  up  in  the  suburbs  to  enforce 
order,  should  the  city-guard  be  unable  to  maintain 
it.  It  is  probable  from  what  followed,  that  the  men 
commanded  by  Porteous  shared  their  leader's  jeal- 
ousy of  the  regular  troops,  and  his  dislike  to  the 
populace,  with  whom  in  the  execution  of  their  du- 
ty, they  were  often  engaged  in  hostilities. 

The  execution  of  Wilson,  on  the  14th  of  April, 
1736,  took  place  in  the  usual  manner,  without  any 
actual  or  menaced  interruption.  The  criminal,  ac- 
cording to  his  sentence,  was  hanged  to  the  death, 
and  it  was  not  till  the  corpse  was  cut  down  that  the 
mob,  according  to  their  common  practice,  began 
*o  insult  and  abuse  the  executioner,  pelting  him  with 
stones,  many  of  which  were  also  thrown  at  the 
soldiers.     At  former  executions  it  had  been  the 


THE    PORTEOUS    MOB.  299 

custom  for  the   city-guard  to   endure  such   insults 
\vith  laudable  patience,    but  on  this  occasion  they 
were  in   such  a  state  of  irritation,  that  they  forgot 
their  usual   moderation,  and   repaid  the  pelting  of 
the  mob  by  pouring  amongst  them  afire  of  musket- 
ry, killing  and   wounding  many  persons.     In  theii 
retreat  also  to  the  guard-house,  as  the  rabble  press- 
ed on  them  with  furious  execrations,  some  soldiers 
in  the  rear  of  the  march  again  faced  round  and  re- 
newed the  fire.      In  consequence  of  this  unauthor 
ized  and  unnecessary  violence,  and  to   satisfy  tht 
community  of  Edinburgh  for  the  blood  which  ha« 
been  rashly  shed,  the  Magistrates  were  inclined  tf 
have  taken  Porteous  to  trial  under  the  Lord  Pro 
vost's  authority  as  High  Sherift' within  the  city.  Be- 
ing advised,  however,  by  the  lawyers  whom  they 
consulted,  that  such  proceeding  would  be  subject 
to    challenge,  Porteous    was  brought    to  trial    foi 
murder  before   the  High  Court  of  Justiciary.     He 
denied  that   he  ever  gave  command  to  fire,  and  it 
was  proved  that  the  fusee  which  he  himself  carried 
had  never   been    discharged.     On  the  other  hand, 
in  the  perplexed  and  contradictory  evidence  which 
was    obtained,  where   so  many  persons    witnessed 
the  same  events  from  diff'erent  positions,  and  per- 
haps with  different   feelings,  there  were  witnesses 
who   said  that  they  saw  Porteous   take  a  musket 
from  one  of  his   men,  and   fire   it    directly  at  the 
crowd.     A  jury  of  incensed  citizens  took  the  worst 
view  of  the  case,  and  found   the  prisoner  guilty  ol 
murder.     At  this  time  King  George  II.  was  on  th 
continent,  and  the  regency  was  chiefly  in  the  hands 
of  Oueen  Caroline,   a  woman  of  very  considerable 


300  THE    PORTEOUS   MOB. 


talent,  and  naturally  disposed  to  be  tenacious  oi' 
the  crown's  rights.  It  appeared  to  her  Majesty, 
and  her  advisers,  that  though  the  action  of  Porteous 
and  his  solders  was  certainly  rash  and  unwarrant- 
ed, yet  that,  considering  the  purpose  by  which  it 
was  dictated,  it  must  fall  considerably  short  of  the 
guilt  of  murder.  Captain  Porteous,  in  the  discharge 
of  a  duty  imposed  on  him  by  legal  authority,  had 
unquestionably  been  assaulted  without  the  least 
provocation  on  his  part,  and  had  therefore  a  right 
to  defend  himself;  and  if  there  were  '^ccess  in  the 
means  he  had  recourse  to,  yet  a  line  of  conduct 
originating  in  self-defence  cannot  be  extended  into 
murder,  though  it  might  amount  to  homicide.  Mov^- 
ed  by  these  considerations,  the  Regency  granted  a 
reprieve  of  Porteous's  sentence,  preliminary  to  his 
obtaining  a  pardon,  which  might  perhaps  have  been 
clogged  with  some  conditions. 

When  the  news  of  the  reprieve  reached  Edin- 
burgh, they  were  received  with  gloomy  and  general 
indignation.  The  lives  which  had  been  taken  in 
the  affray  were  not  those  of  persons  of  the  meanest 
rank,  for  the  soldiers,  of  whom  many,  with  natural 
humanity,  desired  to  fire  over  the  heads  of  the  riot- 
ers, had,  by  so  doing,  occasioned  additional  misfor- 
tune, several  of  the  balls  taking  etTect  in  windows 
which  were  crowded  with  spectators,  and  killing 
some  persons  of  good  condition.  A  great  number, 
therefore,  of  all  ranks,  were  desirous  that  Porteous 
should  atone  witli  his  own  life  for  the  blood  which 
had  been  so  rashly  spilt  by  those  under  his  com- 
mand. A  general  rei:iing  seemed  to  arise,  unfavour- 
a')!e  t<^   the    Uiiht\:>ny  c  riniiual,  and    publi^:    threats 


TJHE    PORTEOUS    MOB.  301 


were  cast  out,  though  the  precise  source  could  not 
be  traced,  that  the  reprieve  itself  should  not  save 
Porteous  from  the  vengeance  of  the  citizens  of 
Edinburgh. 

The  7th  day  of  September,  the  day  previous  to 
that  appointed  for  his  execution,  had  now  arrived, 
and  Porteous,  confident  of  his  speedy  deliverance 
from  jail,  had  given  an  entertainment  to  a  party  of 
friends,  whom  he  feasted  within  the  Tolbooth,  when 
the  festivity  was  strangely  interrupted.  Edinburgh 
was  then  surrounded  by  a  wall  on  the  east  and 
south  sides ;  on  the  west  it  was  defended  by  the 
Castle,  on  the  north  by  a  lake  called  the  North 
Loch.  The  gates  were  regularly  closed  in  the  eve- 
ning, and  guarded.  It  was  about  the  hour  of  shut- 
ting the  ports,  as  they  were  called,  when  a  disor- 
derly assemblage  began  to  take  place  in  the  sub- 
urb called  Portsburgh,  a  quarter  which  has  been 
always  the  residence  of  labourers  and  persons  gen- 
erally of  inferior  rank.  The  rabble  continued  to 
gather  to  a  head,  and,  to  augment  their  numbers, 
beat  a  drum  which  they  had  taken  from  the  man 
who  exercised  the  function  of  drummer  to  the  sub- 
urb. Finding  themselves  strong  enough  to  com- 
mence their  purposes,  they  seized  on  the  West-port, 
nailed  and  barricaded  it.  Then  going  along  the 
Cowgate  and  gaining  at  the  High-street  by  the  nu- 
merous lanes  which  run  between  those  two  princi- 
pal streets  of  the  Old  Town,  they  secured  the  Cow- 
gate-port  and  that  of  the  Netherbow,  and  thus,  ex- 
cept on  the  side  of  the  Castle,  entirely  separated 
the  city  from  such  military  forces  as  were  quarter- 
ed in  the  suburbs.  The  next  object  of  the  mob  was 
VOL.  I.  26 


)2  Tii,.    PORTEOUS    MOi 


to  attack  the  city-jruard,  a  few  of  whom  were  upon 
duty  as  usual.  These  the  rioters  stripped  of  their 
arms,  and  dismissed  from  their  rendezvous,  but 
\vitliout  otherwise  maltreating  them,  though  the 
agents  of  the  injury  of  which  they  complained. 
The  various  halberds,  Lochaber  axes,  Muskets, 
and  other  weapons,  which  they  found  in  the  guard- 
house, served  to  arm  the  rioters,  a  large  body  of 
whom  now  bent  their  way  to  the  door  of  the  jail, 
while  another  body,  with  considerable  regularity^ 
drew  up  across  the  front  of  the  Luckenbooths. 
The  magistrates,  with  such  forces  as  they  could 
collect,  made  an  effort  to  disperse  the  multitude. 
Tliey  were  strenously  repulsed,  but  with  no  more 
violence  than  was  necessary  to  show  that,  while 
the  populace  were  firm  in  their  purpose,  they  meant 
to  accomplish  it  with  as  little  injury  as  possible  to 
any  one  excepting  their  destined  victim.  There 
might  have  been  some  interruption  of  their  under- 
taking, had  the  soldiers  of  Moyle's  regiment  made 
their  way  into  the  town  from  the  Canongate,  where 
they  were  quartered,  or  had  the  garrison  descended 
from  the  Castle.  But  neither  Colonel  Moyle  nor 
the  governor  of  the  Castle  chose  to  interfere  on 
their  own  responsibility,  and  no  one  dared  to  carry 
a  written  warrant  to  them  on  the  part  of  the  mag- 
istrates. 

In  the  meantime  the  multitude  demanded  that 
Porteous  should  be  delivered  up  to  them ;  and  as 
they  were  refused  admittance  to  the  jail,  they  pre- 
pared to  burst  open  the  doors.  The  outer  gate,  as 
was  necessary  to  serte  the  purpose,  was  of  such 
uncommon  strength  as   to  resist  the  united  efforts 


THE  PORTEOUS  MOB.  303 

of  the  rioterSjthough  they  employed  sledge  hammers 
and  iron  crows  to  force  it  open.  Fire  was  at  length 
called  for,  and  a  large  bonfire,  maintained  with  tar- 
barrels  and  such  ready  combustibles,  soon  burnt  a 
hole  in  the  door,  through  which  the  jailor  flung  the 
keys.  This  gave  the  rioters  free  entrance.  With- 
out troubling  themselves  about  the  fate  of  the  other 
criminals,  who  naturally  took  the  opportunity  of  es- 
caping, the  rioters  or  their  leaders  went  in  search 
of  Porteous.  They  found  him  concealed  in  the 
chimney  of  his  apartment,  which  he  was  prevented 
from  ascending  by  a  grating  that  ran  across  the  vent, 
as  is  usual  in  such  edifices.  The  rioters  dragged 
their  victim  out  of  his  concealment,  and  command- 
ed him  to  prepare  to  undergo  the  death  he  had  de- 
served ;  nor  did  they  pay  the  least  attention  either 
to  his  prayers  for  mercy,  or  to  the  offers  by  which 
he  endeavoured  to  purchase  his  life.  Yet  amid  all 
their  obduracy  of  vengeance  there  was  little  tumult, 
and  no  more  violence  than  was  inseperable  from 
the  action  which  they  meditated.  Porteous  was 
permitted  to  intrust  what  money  or  papers  he  had 
with  him  to  a  friend,  for  the  behoof  of  his  family. 
One  of  the  rioters,  a  grave  and  respectable  looking 
man,  undertook,  in  the  capacity  of  a  clergyman,  to 
give  him  ghostly  consolation  suited  to  his  circum- 
stances, as  one  who  had  not  many  minutes  to 
live.  He  was  conducted  from  the  Tolbooth  to  the 
Grassmarket,  which,  both  as  being  the  usual  place 
of  execution  and  the  scene  where  their  victim  had 
fired,  or  caused  his  soldiers  to  fire,  on  the  citizens, 
was  selected  as  the  place  of  punishment.  They 
marched  in  a  .sort  of  procession,  guarded  by  a  band 


3D4  THE     FORTEOUS    MOB. 

of  the  rioters,  miscellaneously  armed  with  muskets, 
battle  axes,  &c.,  which  were  taken  from  the  guard- 
house, while  others  carried  links  or  flambeaux. 
Porteous  was  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  as  he  refus- 
ed to  walk,  he  was  carried  by  two  of  the  rioters  on 
what  is  in  Scotland  called  the  King's  cushion,  by 
which  two  persons  alternately  grasping  each  other's 
wrists, form  a  kind  of  seat  on  the  backs  of  their  hands, 
upon  which  a  third  may  be  placed.  They  were  so 
cool  as  to  halt  wh^n  one  of  his  slippers  dropped 
from  his  foot,  till  it  was  picked  up  and  replaced. 

The  citizens  of  the  better  class  looked  from  their 
windows  on  this  extraordinary  scene,  but  terrified 
beyond  the  power  of  interference,  if  they  had  pos- 
sessed the  will.  In  descending  the  West  Bow, 
which  leads  to  the  place  of  execution,  the  rioters, 
or  conspirators, — a  term,  perhaps,  more  suited  to 
men  of  their  character, —  provided  themselves  with 
a  coil  of  ropes  by  breaking  into  the  booth  of  a  deal- 
er in  such  articles,  and  left  at  the  same  time  a  guin- 
ea to  pay  for  it ;  a  precaution  which  \/ould  hardly 
have  occurred  to  men  of  the  lowest  class,  of  which 
in  external  appearance  the  mob  seemed  to  consist. 
A  cry  was  next  raised  for  the  gallows,  in  order  that 
Porteous  might  die  according  to  all  the  ceremony 
of  the  law.  But  as  this  instrument  of  punishment 
was  kept  in  a  distant  part  of  the  town,  so  that  time 
must  be  lost  in  procuring  it,  they  proceeded  to  hang 
the  unfortunate  man  over  a  dyer's  pole,  as  near  to 
the  place  of  execution  as  possible.  The  poor 
man's  efforts  to  save  himself  only  added  to  his  tor- 
tures ;  for  as  he  tried  to  keep  hold  of  the  beam  to 
which    he    was    suspended,  tliey  struck   his  hands 


THE     PORTEOUS    MOB.  305 


with  guns  and  Lochaber  axes,  to  make  him  quit  his 
hold,  so  that  he  suffered  more  than  usual  in  the 
struggle  which  dismissed  him  from  life. 

When  Porteous  was  dead  the  rioters  dispersed, 
vvithdrawing  without  noise  or  disturbance  all  the 
outposts  which  they  had  occupied  for  preventing 
interruption,  and  leaving  the  city  so  quiet,  that  had 
it  not  been  for  the  relics  of  the  fire  which  had  been 
applied  to  the  jail  door;  the  arms  which  lay  scat- 
tered in  disorder  on  the  street,  as  the  rioters  had 
flung  them  down  ;  and  the  dead  body  of  Porteous, 
which  remained  suspended  in  the  place  where  he 
died  ;  there  was  no  visible  symptom  of  so  violent 
an  explosion  of  popular  fury  having  taken  place. 

The  government,  highly  offended  at  such  a  dar- 
ing contempt  of  authority,  imposed  on  the  Crown 
council  the  task  of  prosecuting  the  discovery  of  the 
rioters  with  the  utmost  care.  The  report  of  Mr 
Charles  Erskine,  then  Solicitor-General,  is  now  be- 
fore me,  and  bears  witness  to  his  exertions  in  trac- 
ing the  reports,  which  were  numerous,  in  assigning 
to  various  persons  particular  shares  in  this  nocturnal 
outrage.  AH  of  them,  however,  when  examined, 
proved  totally  groundless,  and  it  was  evident  that 
they  had  been  either  wilful  falsehoods,  sent  abroad 
to  deceive  and  mislead  the  investigators,  or  at  least 
idle  and  unauthenticated  rumours  which  arise  out  of 
such  commotions,  like  bubbles  on  broken  and  dis- 
tracted waters.  A  reward  of  two  hundred  pounds 
was  offered  by  government,  for  the  discovery  of 
any  person  concerned  in  the  riot,  but  without  suc- 
cess. 

Only  a  single  person  was  proved  to  have  been 
26* 


306  THE    PORTEOUS    MOB. 

present  at  the  mob,  and  the  circumstances  in  which 
he  stood,  placed  him  out  of  the  reach  of  punish- 
ment. He  was  a  footman  to  a  lady  of  rank,  and  a 
creature  of  weak  intellects.  Being  sent  into  Edin- 
burgh on  a  message  by  his  mistress,  he  had  drunk 
so  much  liquor  as  to  deprive  him  of  all  capacity 
whatever,  and  in  this  state  mixed  with  the  mob, 
some  of  whom  put  a  halberd  in  his  hand.  But 
the  witnesses  who  proved  this  apparent  accession 
to  the  mob,  proved  also  that  the  accused  could  not 
stand  without  the  support  of  the  rioters,  and  was  to- 
tally incapable  of  knowing  for  what  purpose  they 
Avere  assembled,  and  consequently  of  approving  of 
or  aiding  their  guilt.  He  was  acquitted  accordingly, 
to  the  still  further  dissatisfaction  of  the  Ministry, 
and  of  Queen  Caroline,  who  considered  the  com- 
motion, and  the  impunity  with  which  it  was  follow- 
ed, as  an  insult  to  her  personal  authority. 

A  bill  was  prepared  and  brought  into  Parliament, 
for  the  punishment  of  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  in  a 
very  vindictive  spirit,  proposing  to  abolish  the  city 
charter,  demolish  the  city  walls,  take  away  the 
town-guard,  and  declare  the  Provost  incapable  ot 
holding  any  office  of  public  trust.  A  long  investi- 
gation took  place  on  the  occasion,  in  which  many 
persons  were  examined  at  the  bar  of  the  House  of 
Lords,  without  throwing  the  least  light  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  Porteous  Mob,  or  the  character  of  the 
persons  by  whom  it  was  conducted.  The  penal 
conclusions  of  the  bill  were  strenuously  combated  by 
the  Duke  of  Argyle,  Duncan  Forbes,  and  others, 
who  represented  the  injustice  of  punishing  with  dis- 
honour the  r^pitpl  of  Scotland  for  the    insolencf^  ot 


THE    PORTEOUS     MOB.  307 

a  lawless  mob,  which,  taking  advantage  of  a  mo- 
ment of  security,  had  committed  a  great  breach  of 
the  peace,  attended  with  a  cruel  murder.  As  men's 
minds  cooled,  the  obnoxious  clauses  were  dropped 
out  of  the  bill,  and  at  length  its  penal  consequences 
were  restricted  to  a  fine  of  £2000  sterling  on  the 
city,  to  be  paid  for  the  use  of  Captain  Porteous's 
widow.  This  person,  having  received  other  fa- 
vours from  the  town,  accepted  of  JS1500  in  full  of 
the  fine ;  and  so  ended  the  affair  so  far  as  the  city 
of  Edinburgh  was  concerned. 

But,  as  if  some  fatality  had  attended  the  subject, 
a  clause  was  thrown  in,  compelling  the  ministers  of 
the  Scottish  church  to  read  a  proclamation  from  the 
pulpit,  once  every  month  during  the  space  of  a 
whole  year,  calling  on  the  congregation  to  do  all  in 
their  power  for  discovering  and  bringing  to  justice 
the  murderers  of  Captain  Porteous,  or  any  of  them, 
and  noticing  the  reward  which  government  had 
promised  to  such  as  should  bring  the  malefactors  to 
conviction.  Many  of  the  Scottish  clergy  resented 
this  imposition,  as  indecorously  rendering  the  pul- 
pit a  vehicle  for  a  hue  and  cry,  and  still  more  as  an 
attempt,  on  the  part  of  the  state,  to  interfere  with 
the  spiritual  authorities  of  the  kirk,  which  amount- 
ed, in  their  opinion,  to  an  Erastian  heresy.  Neither 
was  it  held  to  be  matter  of  indifference,  that,  in 
reading  the  proclamation  of  the  legislature,  the 
clergymen  were  compelled  to  describe  the  bishops 
as  the  "Lords  spiritual  in  Parliament  assenibled;" 
an  epithet  seemingly  acknowledging  the  legality 
and  the  rank  of  an  order  disavowed  by  all  true  Cal- 
vinists.     The  dispute  was  the  more  violent,  as  it 


308  THE    PORTEOUS   MoB. 

was  immediately  subsequent  to  a  schism  in  the 
church,  on  the  fruitful  subject  of  patronage,  which 
had  divided  from  the  communion  of  the  established 
Church  of  Scotland  that  large  class  of  dissenters, 
generally  called  Seceders.  Much  ill  blood  was 
excited,  and  great  dissensions  took  place  betwixt 
those  clergymen  who  did,  and  those  who  did  not, 
read  the  proclamation.  This  controversy,  like 
others,  had  its  hour,  during  which  little  else  was 
spoken  of,  until  in  due  time  the  subject  was  worn 
threadbare  and  forgotten. 

The  origin  of  the  Porteous  Mob  continued  long 
to  exercise  the  curiosity  of  those  by  whom  the  event 
was  remembered,  and  from  the  extraordinary  mix- 
ture of  prudence  and  audacity  with  which  the  pur- 
pose of  the  multitude  had  been  conceived  and  exe- 
cuted, as  well  as  the  impenetrable  secrecy  with 
which  the  enterprise  was  carried  through,  the  pub- 
lic were  much  inclined  to  suspect  that  there  had 
been  among  its  actors  men  of  rank  and  character, 
far  superior  to  that  belonging  to  the  multitude  who 
were  the  ostensible  agents.  Broken  and  imperfect 
stories  were  told  of  men  in  the  disguise  of  women 
and  of  common  artizans,  whose  manner  betrayed  a 
sex  and  manners  different  from  what  their  garb  an- 
nounced. Others  laughed  at  these  as  unauthoriz- 
ed exaggerations,  and  contended  that  no  class  were 
so  likely  to  frame  or  execute  the  plan  for  the  mur- 
der of  the  police  officer,  as  the  populace  to  whom 
his  official  proceedings  had  rendered  him  obnoxious, 
and  that  the  secrecy  so  wonderfully  preserved  on 
the  occasion  arose  out  of  the  constancy  and  fideli- 
ty which  the  Scottish  people  observe  towards  each 


THE    PORTEOUS    MOB.  309 

■  • 

other  when  engaged  in  a  common  cause.  Noth- 
ing is,  or  probably  ever  will  be,  known  with  certain- 
ty on  the  subject ;  but  it  is  understood,  that  sever- 
al young  men  left  Scotland  in  apprehension  of  the 
strict  scrutiny  which  was  made  into  that  night's  pro- 
ceedings ;  and  in  your  grandfather's  younger  days, 
the  voice  of  fame  pointed  out  individuals,  who,  long 
absent  from  that  country,  had  returned  from  the 
East  and  West  Indies  in  improved  circumstances, 
as  persons  who  had  fled  abroad  on  account  of  the 
Porteous  Mob.  One  story  of  the  origin  of  the  con- 
spiracy was  stated  to  me  with  so  much  authority, 
and  seemed  in  itself  so  simple  and  satisfactory,  that 
although  the  degree  of  proof,  upon  investigation,  fell 
far  short  of  what  was  necessary  as  full  evidence,  I 
cannot  help  considering  it  as  the  most  probable  ac- 
count of  the  mysterious  affair.  A  man,  who  long 
bore  an  excellent  character,  and  filled  a  place  of 
some  trust  as  forester  and  carpenter  to  a  gentleman 
of  fortune  in  Fife,  was  affirmed  to  have  made  a 
confession  on  his  death-bed,  that  he  had  been  not 
only  one  of  the  actors  in  the  hanging  of  Porteus, 
but  one  of  the  secret  few  by  whom  the  deed  was 
schemed  and  set  on  foot.  Twelve  persons  of  the 
village  of  Path-head — so  this  man's  narrative  was 
said  to  proceed — resolved  that  Porteous  should  die, 
to  atone  for  the  life  of  Wilson,  with  whom  many  of 
them  had  been  connected  by  the  ties  of  friendship 
and  joint  adventure  in  illicit  trade,  and  for  the  death 
of  those  shot  at  the  execution.  This  vengeful  band 
crossed  the  Forth  by  different  ferries,  and  met  to- 
gether at  a  solitary  place  near  the  city,  where  they 
distributed  the  party  which  were  to  act  in  the  busi- 


i 


310  THE    PORTEOUS    MOB. 

ness  which  they  had  in  hand ;  and  giving  a  begin- 
ning to  the  enterprise,  soon  saw  it  undertaken  by 
the  populace  of  the  city,  whose  minds  were  precise- 
ly in  that  state  of  irritability  which  disposed  them 
to  follow  the  example  of  a  few  desperate  men.  Ac- 
cording to  this  account,  most  of  the  original  devi- 
sers of  the  scheme  fled  to  foreign  parts,  the  surprise 
of  the  usual  authorities  having  occasioned  some 
days  to  pass  over  ere  the  investigations  of  the  aflfair 
were  commenced.  On  making  enquiry  of  the  sur- 
viving family  of  this  old  man,  they  were  found  dis- 
posed to  treat  the  rumoured  confession  as  a  fiction, 
and  to  allege  that  although  he  was  of  an  age  which 
seemed  to  support  the  story,  and  had  gone  abroad 
shortly  after  the  Porteous  Mob,  yet  he  had  never 
acknowledged  any  accession  to  it,  but  on  the  con- 
trary, maintained  his  innocence  when  taxed,  as  he 
sometimes  was,  with  having  a  concern  in  the  affair. 
The  report,  however,  though  probably  untrue  in 
many  of  its  circumstances,  yet  seems  to  give  a  ve- 
ry probable  account  of  the  origin  of  the  riot  in  the 
vindictive  purpose  of  a  few  resolute  men,  whose 
example  was  quickly  followed  by  the  multitude,  al- 
ready in  a  state  of  mind  to  catch  fire  from  the 
slightest  spark. 

This  extraordinary  and  mysterious  outrage 
seems  to  be  the  only  circumstance  which  can  be 
interesting  to  you,  as  exclusively  belonging  to  the 
history  of  Scotland,  betwixt  the  years  immediately 
succeeding  the  civil  war  of  1715,  and  those  preced- 
ing the  last  explosion  of  Jacobitism  in  that  country, 
in  1745-6. 

END    OF    VOL.    I. 


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